Russian Black Ice
by DuskStarDragon
Summary: This is a story about a young Prof. Broom and his journey into the cold Russian tundra. He's been charged with the mission to destroy a possible demon at a secret facility where several kidnapped scientists are being held by a mysterious mercenary group.
1. A Story Begins

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Hellboy or any of its characters and stories (but I wish I did). I do own my own my characters and story that I come up with. Please do not steal.

Okay, this is my second Hellboy fic… my first one… well… I've decided to stop it for the time being. It was doing alright and everyone seemed to like, but due to certain reasons, I have to stop. If my dream ever comes true, you'll find out why. Anyway, as for this story, I wanted to do something a little different. I was thinking one day about what Hellboy could have been like before he became the demon butt kicking, smart ass guy that his is. He needed to be trained, right? Well, this is kind of a prequel… at least one of his first adventures. Mind you, that this not canon in any way. It is completely fanfiction… turn and run now if you wish.

For all those are left, I welcome all reviews, good or bad, long or short. I only ask that you try to avoid phrases like 'this story sucks' or 'you stuck'. If you don't like the story then state why. Hopeful I can then improve the story or character. Criticism is both a positive and negative tool that authors use to improve their stories and themselves. Trust me, you won't hurt my feeling. Without further ado, here is the story… finally.

**Chapter One**

A single pink rose sat on Professor Broom's desk. It had sat there for the last few days as he worked to finish the latest report from the field. He offended looked at it and thought deeply. What he was thinking, no one was quite sure, except for Hellboy. Both he and the Professor felt the same way about the rose and the thoughts that were attached to it. Professor Broom tried to hurry through the remaining paperwork so he could take care of the business associated with the rose. He had wanted to take care of it when he first got it, but the Bureau's case load had increased and he was needed to oversee some aspects of the different missions. His personal one would have to wait just a little bit longer.

"So, what's with the rose," Liz asked Hellboy for the tenth time.

"Sorry kiddo, can't say," Hellboy explain once again, "it's something between me and father."

"Hmph," Liz folded her arms, "then I'll just ask Abe, he has to know."

"Red I was wondering," speaking of the devil, "if I could inquire about the pink rose that has been sitting on the Professor's desk?"

Hellboy shot a smug smile in Liz's direction, "no… he doesn't."

"I see," Abe wasn't surprised, "so he won't tell you either?"

"No! He's being a big jerk," she stuck out her tongue at Hellboy.

"If you hold that face any longer, it will stick that way," a voice interrupted the name calling.

"Professor did you finish all that paperwork finally," Abe asked.

"Yes… finally," Prof. Broom sighed, "Hellboy… are you ready to go?"

Hellboy raised his eyebrow, "huh? Don't you want to rest for awhile? I mean you didn't just sent three days writing out reports, signing papers and dealing with Manning… and I know that you didn't get much sleep," he said somewhat sternly.

Prof. Broom looked at his son just as stern, "I may be old, but I am able to make decisions on my own. Now," he started down the hallway, "are you coming?"

Hellboy looked to Liz and Abe then at the Prof., "um… yeah… sure," he followed after him.

Liz and Abe looked to one another and seemed to come up with the same idea, "we're coming to," they said in unison.

The Prof. turned around, "… if you're going to come, then hurry up. The helicopter is ready and I would prefer leave before another day passes."

"Where are we going," Liz asked as she fell in behind the Prof.

"Somewhere very special," is all he would say.

The walk to the hanger was quiet, Liz and Abe weren't sure where they were going and they still weren't sure about the mystery of the single pink rose. They had some many questions, but both of them were a little afraid to press the Professor and it would have been useless to ask Hellboy. All they could do was hope that someone would start explain what was going on.

Professor Broom, for a moment, looked down at the rose he carried. Though it had been sitting on his desk for three days, it still retained its freshness and beauty. It was like it knew it had to make it.

"A pink rose…," Abe thought out loud, "one of the oldest know rose colors and are a symbol of love and appreciation… if I'm not mistaken."

Hellboy looked over his shoulder, "I don't even want to know why you know that."

"Yes Abe, the pink rose is a symbol of love and appreciation," Prof. Broom ignored Hellboy's comment, "in this case, it is more of a symbol of appreciation for something that I never got to say to someone very special."

"Who," Liz asked.

"How many times are you going to ask that," Hellboy sighed.

"That someone special is Natasha Ravecoft, a former agent," he again ignored Hellboy.

"Whoa Professor, I didn't know that you had a lady friend," Liz smirked.

"Was a lady friend… Natasha is no longer with us," Prof. Broom expression saddened.

"Oh… did you two have a fight or something," Liz asked innocently.

Both Hellboy and Prof. Broom stopped, releasing heavy sighs. There was something weighing on their hearts. Either wanted to say what it was, but it had to do with a woman named Natasha.

"Liz," Abe tugged at her arm, "I don't think they had a fight."

"Oh…," she realized what he meant.

"… how… how long ago," Abe asked quietly.

"Twenty years ago… on a mission in Greece… she saved Hellboy's life," Prof. Broom started to walk down the hallway once again.

Hellboy hung his head as he tightened his stone fist. He wasn't ashamed that he was saved by a mortal, but ashamed that he wasn't able to save her.

"It is a long story full of painful, yet wonderful memories," Prof. Broom sighed, "prefect for a trip."

"Are you sure you want to…," Hellboy asked.

"Just because you don't want to remember the events of the past doesn't mean I don't want to," he turned, "sometimes they're the only thing I have…"

"Sorry Father," Hellboy continued to hang his head in shame.

Prof. Broom smile, "the helicopter won't wait forever. We better hurry."

"Professor, if it's not to much trouble… could you tell us about her… about Natasha," Liz asked somewhat shyly.

"It was back during the Cold War… 1951 I believe," Prof. Broom started reminisce, "I was still the head of Field Operations and was still quite active in the field. It was a hard time in the world. Russia had set up its Iron Curtain and many things were uncertain…"

1951

December 12th

19:15

Somewhere over Russia

"I still don't understand why you need the Bureau's help with missing scientists," Prof. Broom read through the file folder, "isn't this a job for the military?"

The Major cleared his throat, "normally it would be, but this is a special case. The place that the scientists are being held has a… a bloody past. The Russian government set up the facility as an advance weapons research center about four years ago. However, something went horribly wrong," he motioned to some pictures in the file folder.

Prof. Broom looked through the horrifying pictures of mangled bodies and untold amounts of blood that was shattered across the walls. Some of the men depicted in the still photos seemed to be deformed and many parts of their bodies were blackened, like a severe case of frostbite or burn. He couldn't tell from the black and white pictures which one it was.

"What happen to these men," the Professor handed the file to the Major.

"Something killed them," he shrugged his shoulders, "from what the Russian reports say, three men survived. Two were so scared that they just sat there in a catatonic state, the other one, a soldier, just kept repeating the same two words over and over again."

"And that would be," Prof. Broom probed.

"Black Ice," the Major's face turned grim, "three days after being rescued the man apparently died of a heart attack during his sleep… a nightmare possible."

"Black Ice… hmm," Prof. Broom brought his fingers up to his chin in thought, "… nothing comes to mind particularly."

"The US and British governments would like you to investigate the abandoned research facility and if possible, destroy whatever may be there," the Major explained.

"What about the missing scientists? I read in the report that nine American and two British scientists are the ones being held by a mercenary group at the facility," he was still questioning his role in the mission, "am I to determine what the creature is or if it is still there and then you'll send in troops once it's safe to rescue them?"

The Major shifted uncomfortably in his airplane seat, "no… you are to determine and destroy the creature. The only rescue there will be is to come after you if the creature proves to be to powerful."

"But what about the…," the Professor started.

"The scientists and mercenaries are presumed dead," he finished the half asked question, "there was a specialty unit out there already to spy on the facility and retrieve the scientists, however… all radio transmissions have ceased as of two weeks ago. We sent in another unit to find out what happen, but only one came back and with this," he set down a bloody book, "he was writing a journal. He made entries detailing the enemies' movements and everything they observed."

Prof. Broom carefully picked up the journal and started to read a few of the later entries.

_Private Daniel Parker_

_Date: November 19__th__, 1951_

_The Sergeant says that we're going to move within the next few days. He just wants to make sure that he has all the exits covered when we move in. He doesn't like the fact that we haven't seen any guards at their usual posts for about a week. He thinks that maybe their wearing down or at least he hopes so. He's starting to see things… like the rest of us. Nothing big, just figures in distance. I've seen them too, but they don't look human. They're too thin and rigid, like they're made out of ice. I suppose it's just the Russian winter is playing tricks on all us. I hope anyway…_

He read another dated a little bit later.

_It's out there. It's stalking us. Only me and the Sergeant remain. Whatever it was got the others; taking them out one by one. Sergeant thinks that maybe the mercenaries we were spying on may have become victims of the creature and possibly the scientists as well. The radio died about four days ago, so we can't order a rescue. The Sergeant still has hope that we can survive until backup arrives, but I have my doubts. I'm so tired… sleep is a God sent… but it could also bring death…_

"This last one was writing in haste," the Professor observed, "did the soldier report anything?"

"No, not spoken anyway," the Major confirmed, "the only words he says are 'Black Ice'."

Prof. Broom grew concerned, "the same as the Russian soldier. Alright, is there anything else I need to know before this plane lands and I lead my follow investigators and your soldiers into an unknown situation?"

"Yes. If the mercenaries are still alive, they will probably be armed and very dangerous. If a fire fight starts, you and your men are to get to safety," the Major warned.

"A shoot out won't bother any of my members," Prof. Broom gave a small chuckle, "we've been in worse."

The Major smirked, "I'm sure."

"Attention! Prepare for landing!," the pilot yelled over the speaker.

"I believe this is my stop," Prof. Broom removed his bag from the seat next to him.

"Good luck Professor," the Major saluted.

…

"So you decided to go in even though you didn't have a clue to what you would be facing," Abe was a little surprised by the recklessness of the Professor.

"I was younger back then and good information was hard to come by, especially when dealing across enemy borders," he smiled, "and I did have some ideas to what we would be facing, I just wanting to confirm my suspicions."

"And where was Hellboy at the time," Liz asked glancing over at the half asleep demon.

"He was supposed to be in New Mexico training," he looked over at his son.

"But he wasn't," Liz was curious.

"Not where I was supposed to be," Hellboy opened his one eye and smirked.

"Yes, but that will come a little later in the story," the Professor wanted to continue, "our small group traveled across the barren waste land of Russia for hours. Everything looked the same and it was hard to tell where we were going half of the time. But we did eventually come across the abandoned research facility…"

…

The snow whipped through the air as the chilling wind howled. The sound of teeth chattering and heavy breathes fill everyone's ears. They were all cold and most wanted to retreat to the facility for shelter, but they also didn't want to run the risk of being surprise by the mystery creature or surviving mercenaries. The captain was going to make sure that when they moved, it was going to be as safe a possible.

"Captain, has there been any movement," Prof. Broom approached.

"No… it's been half an hour and we can't stay out here much longer," the Captain thought for a moment, "I think we should move in, but slowly and carefully."

"I agree," he nodded his head.

Both groups of men, three investigators from the B.P.R.D and seven soldiers slowly made their way to an open hanger. There was no other movement except for their own. An eerie glow came from the hanger, probably from the remaining lights.

"That's good," the Captain whispered back to Prof. Broom, "it looks like the generators is still operational or at least the back up one."

"That could mean that the scientists are still alive," Prof. Broom hoped.

"That could also mean that mercenaries are alive as well," the Captain narrowed his eyebrows, "we'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open."

They didn't speak another word to each other. They didn't want to give away the element of surprise. It would be their only ally in this unfamiliar place. The seven soldiers moved out ahead of the investigators, gave the all clear and signaled for them to follow. This went on for several minutes until they reached the hanger doors.

"Captain, there doesn't appear to be anyone in there," one of the soldiers called back.

"… move in," the Captain signaled for everyone to proceed into the hanger.

The group silently moved into the sheltered hanger, hoping it would be safe and a lot warmer. Their footsteps echoed in the empty place. Not a soul was to be seen or heard. Frozen breath glittered in the artificial light; it was strangely beautiful.

"Professor Broom," one of the agents got his attention, "you should look at this."

"Shh! Not so loud," one of the soldiers hissed.

"I suggest you take your own advice," the Captain glared as he followed the Professor.

Prof. Broom quickly came over to where Agent Jennings was pointing. Before he got there, he could smell the distinct of rotting flesh. Pulling out a handkerchief and placing it at his nose, the Professor looked down at the unfortunate victim. It appeared to be a man and by the uniform he was wearing, he was a soldier of the United States.

"Sergeant Willis… he was a good man and soldier," the Captain removed his hat in respect.

"Was he the Sergeant that was spying on the facility," Prof. Broom asked as he started to examine the remains.

"Yes… he was one of the best when it came to gathering information and surviving in places like this," the Captain turned away, "… and he was a good friend."

"I am truly sorry for your loss Captain," Prof. Broom gave his condolences.

"… we'll secure the perimeter," the Captain walked away.

"What do you think did this Professor," the agent asked in a hushed voice.

"I have a few ideas, but they seem highly unlikely," he continued to study the unusual claw marks.

"Why is that," Agent Jennings asked as he searched for his camera.

"Most northern creatures of the ice rather avoid people," he explained, "at least they use to. Plus the two men referring to 'Black Ice'… I still don't understand what it means. And there's something about the pictures of the Russian soldiers… the way that they were disfigured bothers me. This man, it looks like he died right here. In the pictures, however, it looked like they were trying to crawl away… trying to escape from something. Yes… the unfortunate Sergeant was surprised by something and it killed him."

"It almost appears that his blood was licked up afterwards," the agent checked over the blood smeared walls, "could it be vampires?"

"… no… they are a little bit more delicate about their meals," Prof. Broom looked over the body closer, "no… no bite marks," he checked the neck just in case, "Black Ice… Black Ice... claw marks…," he looked up at the smeared wall, "possible blood draining as a source of food… hmm…"

Creak… swish… crunch…

"What was that," the soldiers whipped their weapons around.

"It sounded like it came from in there," the Captain whispered as he pointed to a door that lead deeper into the facility.

"Should we have a look Sir," one of the soldiers asked.

"… together and in tight formation," the Captain ordered, "Prof. Broom, you and your fellow investigators will be in the middle."

Creak… crunch… swish… "AAAGGGG!" a scream echoed through the air.

"Someone is still alive in there," Prof. Broom wanted to run towards the scream, but restrained himself, "it could be one on the scientists!"

"Or a mercenary," the Captain gritted his teeth, "… let's move it ladies! We have a possible rescue on our hands!"

Four of the soldiers ran through the door, guns ready to fire at anything or anyone. Prof. Broom hastily followed after the soldiers, just in case it was the mystery creature. He ran through the door and into a narrow, dimly lit hallway.

"AAGGG! NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME," a voice pleaded in a thick European accent.

The seven soldiers and three investigators ran towards the screaming, hoping that maybe they could save whoever it could be. The light was growing dimmer and dimmer as they came closer to the source of screaming. The four soldiers that were in front stopped suddenly at the edge of where the light ended and the darkness began.

"AAGGG! NO! You won't get me! You won't take me like you did Yuri! You won't rip me open," the voice continued to yell.

"We're so close," the Captain tried to peer through the darkness, "someone hand me a flashlight."

One of the soldiers, without looking, quickly reached into his bag and pulled one out. He turned it on as he handed it to the Captain. The Captain cautiously raised the light so it could pierce the darkness. Not much could be seen as he slowly scanned the area with his single beam of light.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack... the sound of someone running towards them suddenly echoed through the hallway.

"Run towards our voices," Prof. Broom yelled into the darkness.

"Hey," one of the soldiers tried to silence him, "it could be a mercenary."

"Thank the lord! Someone came," a frighten face appeared, "I thought we were surely… AAAGGG!"

As quickly as he appeared he was snatched back into the darkness by an unseen force. Without thinking, the soldiers pushed forward; some readying their guns, others grabbing their flashlights so they could see what they might be facing. Sounds of scratching and clawing, gnashing and crunching; horrible gurgling noises mixed with metal being torn into.

"Quickly men," the Captain urged on towards a faint light that was just ahead.

The gurgling noises of a dying man still could be heard. Prof. Broom knew there was no way to save the poor victim, but maybe there was a chance to see and possibly destroy the creature that took him. Reaching into his bag, Prof. Broom pulled out his flask of Holy Water.

The group came into the dimly lit area; it was an open room, by all the boxes and papers strewn across the floor the room appeared to be storage place. There was a single light hanging from the center of the room. It wasn't very bright and its dim light only cast eerie shadows upon the walls and ceiling.

Drip… drip… drip… slurp…

"What is that," one of the soldiers asked the Captain.

"I don't know," he looked around with the flashlight, "tight circle, everyone keep your eyes and ears open for anything."

"Hoorah," the unit answered back as they enclosed the Bureau's investigators.

Drip… drip… drip… slurp… the noises continued.

The soldiers aimed their flashlights wherever they thought the sounds might be coming from.

"Over there," the soldier held his beam on a limp limb of a man.

All lights followed quickly to where he was pointing. The increased light gave a bigger picture of what was making the noises. Hanging from the pipes was a strange snake like creature. It's black, scaly coils were nearly crushing the pipe as it hung in the air. The red glow from its eyes seemed to illuminate the area.

"Please… help me…," the man try to reach out to them.

The creature was holding him with its four arms. One was wrapped around the man's waist. Two others were holding the man's legs so he couldn't struggle much. The snake creature brought up it's forth hand up to its mouth, it was covered with blood. A bright, red forked tongue twist out of it's mouth and began to lap up the dripping blood.

Drip… drip… drip… slurp…

"Alright men, just take it slow and easy," the Captain brought up his handgun, "take aim and make sure your shots count."

"No, you can't," Prof. Broom grabbed the barrel, "you might accidentally shot the man. The man that is asking for our help and we should try to save him."

"He can not be saved," a deep European female voice came from the shadow.

BANG… a flash of light from the barrel of a gun.

"Now he is," the voice taunted.

The creature looked down at its now dead meal and gritted its long spike like teeth. Dropping the dead man, it turned its attention to the group of soldiers and investigators. It opened its open wide and released an ear shattering screech. The tight coils around the pipe loosen and started to fall towards the men.

BANG… BANG… BANG… three more flashes from the shadows.

The creature hissed and growled in pain as it retreated back up to the ceiling. Droplets of its black blood drizzled from its wounds.

"Go ahead, make my day you slithering piece of crap," the female voice came once again from the shadows, "I'm sorry I couldn't save Rendor, I will have to answer to God for that. You however," she finally emerged, "are going to hell."

The creature recoiled for a moment, but with one swift movement it was in the air, leaping towards the young woman.

"DUCK," Prof. Broom tried to warned her.


	2. It Appears

Ah, Chapter Two and what to do? That's right… rant. If you are a newcomer to my stories, this is the part where I usually find something to rant about, complain for a sentence or two, give up and do shout outs. That's my normal formula. If you are a veteran reader of mime… well you probably just ignore this top portion anyway. Okay that was my rant… a small one… but a rant none the less. So with that out of the way, I will do shout outs now. I only have one, but it is one and for the first chapter too… YEAH! A lovely and well deserved shout out goes to epalladino. Thank you for being the first reviewer. If memory serves me correctly and it usually doesn't, you were the first to review for my other story. And yes, I will try to work on my grammar. Unfortunately, English was not my strongest subject in school… yet I want to write graphic novels… I'm so messed up.

One more thing before I go, some of the grammar will be bad on purpose when certain characters are speaking because it's not their first language and they never took the time to learn it appropriately. Okay, I'm done; you may now read Chapter Two. Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

Liz and Abe were almost holding their breaths as Prof. Broom took a moment to think about what happen next. It was one of the more exciting mission he had been on and one of the longest too. It was one of those missions were he learned many lessons about the supernatural world and his fellow man.

"So, did the snake creature get her," Liz asked.

"No," Prof. Broom smiled.

…

"DUCK," Prof. Broom tried to warn her.

She only smirked as she raised her gun and took one more shot. The barrel flashed as the unseen bullet headed towards its target. The creature flew backwards, screeching in horrible pain from its fresh wound. Writhing and squirming on the floor, the creature tried to make its way to the darkness corner of the room.

"Hey, are you just going to stand there, pissing in your pants or are you going use those firearms," the woman semi yelled at the soldiers.

"Open fire," the Captain came out of his shock, as did his unit.

The soldiers took up their arms and started to fire upon the injured creature. It twisted and contorted its body as a multitude of bullets began to fill it. The air was slowly filling smoke and the smell of gunpowder. The creature's struggles were growing weaker and weaker as the soldiers continued to shoot relentlessly, until it stopped moving.

The Captain signaled to hold their fire; hopefully their onslaught of bullets killed the it. They waited to see if there was any movement what so ever. The young woman, on the other hand, did not. She slowly walked up to the motionless creature, her handgun trained on it, finger on the trigger just in case. As she drew closer, the creature started to stir.

"Watch out, it's not dead yet," the Captain yelled out.

She ignored him and continued to head towards the fallen creature. She only stopped when she was about a foot away from it and took aim. It looked up at her; one of its eyes was missing, most likely from the last shot she took. Its mouth started to move and a low hissing noise could be heard. Underneath the hissing, Prof. Broom could make out some German, but he wasn't quite sure what it was saying.

"Of course Diedrick, I will do this for you," she sighed, "I'm sorry I could not save you though. I know that God will forgive you for attacking Rendor… you are not yourself, but you will have to answer for what you've done in the past… just as I will," she whispered the last part, "I will make it as painless as possible," she took aim at the creature's head.

BANG… this time the creature fell to the floor and didn't move again.

The woman took in a deep breath and released a sigh with a hint of frustration. Holstering her weapon, she turned to exit the room.

"Hold right there Missy," the Captain took out his side arm.

She stopped and faced the men, "please," she rolled her eyes, "You should not waste your bullets on me. You should be saving them for the big one."

"Big one," he was a little confused.

"Captain, if I may," Prof. Broom pushed his way passed the soldiers, "is this not the creature that has been terrorizing the facility from the beginning?"

"There is no time for this," she gritted her teeth, "if you want to survive to hear answers to your questions, then follow me," she started towards the exit again.

BANG… "I said hold it Missy," the Captain gave a warning shot, "we're not going anywhere until you tell us who you are, what is going on here and what the heck is that thing?!"

"Foolish soldier," she was getting angry, "we have to get out of here. Most likely all the noise has awoken the vile snake from its slumber. Do you want to die or lose as many men as I have?"

"Captain, I think she knows what she's talking about," the Professor put his hand on the Captain's gun.

The Captain looked Prof. Broom in the eye, "I am in charge of this mission and what I say goes. You were brought in to do your little investigation and that's all. I decide what we do and when we do it. Got it, Professor?"

Slither… slither… creak…

The young woman went tense as she brought out her gun again, cursing through her teeth in what sounded to be Russian.

"It is coming," she scanned the room, "we have to get out here and now," she started towards the door.

"Sir, what do we do," one of the soldiers asked.

The Captain gritted his teeth as he tried to think quickly.

"Captain," Prof. Broom suggested, "I think we should follow the young woman. She obviously knows or at least has some idea to what is making those noises. And by the sound of it, I think it might be bigger than this one," he motioned to the snake creature.

"… Alright," he gave in, "men…"

"Follow my lead if you wish to survive," the young woman had waited for them.

The men were more then a little bit surprise that she had waited for them, but they were more interested in living at the moment. Three men went ahead of Prof. Broom and his agents while the other four, including the Captain, took up the tail end of the unit.

The young woman charged through the dimly lighted hallway, looking over her shoulder on the occasion. She moved like a well trained soldier with the grace of a dancer. Her feet seemed to glide over the floor, also as if she wasn't touching it.

Slither… slither… SCREECH…

She stopped and turned around, "I guess it found Diedrick… we better hurry," she continued on.

She picked up her pace and urged to the group to do the same. Prof. Broom was more or less curious about what was chasing them. Was it something like the creature that hung from the ceiling? The young woman did say something about a 'vile snake'. But what was this creature? An ancient demon of the ice that's slumber was disturbed or maybe a corrupted elemental? So many thoughts were running through his head, he wasn't really watching where he was going.

"Ack," he tripped over a fallen piece of rumble.

"Prof. Broom," the Captain stopped to help him up.

Slither, slither, slither… SCREECH… the horrible scream came from right behind them.

Four glowing eyes pierced the darkness; staring straight at the Professor and Captain. It almost seemed to be a hateful glare. The Captain started to aim his side arm at the concealed creature, but a long thin bright red tongue wrapped around his arm and started to pull him closer. The Professor grabbed the Captain around the waist and started to pull. The creature was proving to be stronger as both Prof. Broom and the Captain came closer to the darkness. The other soldiers came and took hold of the two to prevent their loss.

The young woman charged passed the group, pulling out something from her coat. She brought it up high and with one smooth movement, brought down it down on the creature's tongue. She pulled back, revealing a bloody hunting knife. The severed tongue whipped back to where it came from. The creature release an ear shattering scream as its unblinking eyes swayed back and forth.

"I think you've had enough for one day," the young woman pulled out a large barreled gun, "why don't you come into the light," she pulled the trigger.

The barrel of the gun lit up like a candle as the projectile headed towards the unblinking eyes. The projectile hit the creature square in the mouth causing everything to become bright. The light revealed the true size of the creature. It was about fifteen feet long, had four arms and was shaped like a serpent. It looked similar to the other creature, but much larger. Razor sharp claws were its fingers and inch long spikes were its teeth. The first one they encountered was terrifying, but this one was just monstrous. The creature covered its eyes as the flare flashed a bright light. It squealed in pain and withdrew back into darker places until it could not be seen.

"What was that," the Captain fell backwards.

"Flare gun," she blew the smoke away, "and my last shell too. It frightened the creature for now, but it will be back. We better head for the stronghold before it regains strength."

"How far is it," the Captain asked as he pulled the remaining piece of tongue off his arm.

"Not far," she motioned up the hallway, "you coming," she put out her hand towards Prof. Broom.

He took hold of it, "thank you," she pulled him up.

"Come," she hastened down the hallway.

The group hurried after her, not wanting wait around for the creature to return. The hallway was growing lighter and lighter as they ran. Just ahead, the Professor could make out a vault door. Claw marks were deeply cut into the metal door, like it had been under siege.

"Open the door Gleb," she called out as she came up to the door.

A barely audible voice came from behind the door. It sounded like it was Russian, but Prof. Broom wasn't sure. The young woman's face turned red as she banged her fist on the door in anger. She started to curse and possibly threaten the person behind the door in her native tongue. Her words must have had an effect, because the door began to open slowly.

She pushed it open all the way and a small oomph could be heard. She motioned for the soldiers and agents to hurry in. They didn't need to be told twice and filed in quickly into the vault. The young woman looked down the hallway one more time before she came in herself.

"Help me with the door Gleb," she was struggling to push the door close.

"Oh… sorry Natasha," the large brutish man peeled himself off the wall.

Together they pushed and the door locked into place. The young woman turned around and hurried passed the men. She seemed to be ticked off. The large man that opened the door rushed after her and wrapped his burley arms around her waist.

"Natasha not worth it," he pleaded with her, "Günter not worth your time. Please Natasha settle down."

Though the large man had his back to him, Prof. Broom could tell that the young woman was struggling to get out of his grip.

"I don't care anymore," her voice rang out, "I only need one bullet!"

"Oh please stop… enough violence. Yes," he pleaded once more.

The sounds of her struggling stopped and a deep sigh being released could be heard. The large man in returned released his own sigh and put the woman down. She walked over to some shelves that lined the room, cursing under her breath. Gritting her teeth and clinching her fists, the young woman flung her arm across the shelf; knocking off its contents. She stormed off, disappearing around a corner.

"I hope Günter is hiding good," the large man frowned.

"Bring her back here," the Captain ordered one soldier, "and make sure you grab her gun."

"Yes Sir," he answered as he went after the woman.

"You three go see if you anyone else," he continued to bark orders, "if you do, bring them back here. Use force if you need to."

"Yes Sir," they answered the same.

"As for the rest of you, secure the perimeter," was his final order.

"Excuse sirs," the large man came up to Prof. Broom, "but have you come to rescue us?"

"Are you a missing scientist," the Captain didn't allow Prof. Broom to answer.

"No, I'm Gleb," he answered proudly.

"Then no," the Captain said coldly.

"… oh…," he was disappointed.

"Captain," Prof. Broom was appalled, "Gleb, we came here in search of eleven scientists and to destroy the creature that is haunting this place."

"Really!? You're going to kill big snake," he was ecstatic, "it is wonderful. Snake thing has killed many people… many friends," he lowered his head, "and nice science people."

"Science people? Do you mean scientists," Prof. Broom asked quickly.

Gleb pulled back a little bit, like he was afraid, "yes… about two weeks ago. Snake thing get them when someone locked them out of room… their screams…," he started to shutter.

Prof. Broom could tell that Gleb had heard and seen some terrible things.

"Ah, poor baby; did the dying cries of the pathetic men disturb you so," a fair haired man enter the room; he was being pushed by a soldier.

"We found this one hiding in a closet sir," he reported.

"So Natasha goes out looking for Rendor and brings back American soldiers," the man continued to tease, "what a fool."

"Natasha no fool," Gleb's cheeks turned red, "she been one keeping us alive. She been only one to hurt the snake thing. You should be thankful that she let you stay, especially after what you do."

"Oh my gosh will someone please stop his incessant whining," the fair haired man whined himself.

"Günter!? Günter you better have an explanation for why Rendor left," Natasha entered the room in a huff.

The fair haired man, Günter, started to shutter as she entered the room. He quickly ducked behind the soldier that escorted him in. He was obviously afraid of her and Prof. Broom could see why with the way she handled herself.

"LET ME AT HIM," she screamed as she started to run towards him.

"Restrain her," the Captain ordered.

Two of the remaining soldiers took hold of her arms and tried to restrain her as best as they could. She was proving hard to hold on to as she pulled and twisted her arms.

"Just stay still Missy and you won't get hurt," one of the soldiers tried to calm her.

"Me get hurt," she snorted, "you should be more concern about him," she shot a nasty stare in Günter's direction.

"Alright," the Captain was getting irritated, "you," he pointed to the cowering man, "over there and you," he looked straight at the anger young woman, "you're staying in my sight… I don't trust you," he reached for her handgun.

"If you are going to take that, make sure to take care of it," she growled as she let him take her gun.

The Captain, without breaking his stare, unloaded the gun, putting the bullets in his pockets. He finally turned away from her, whispering to his men as walked by. Not even Prof. Broom could make out what he was saying, but the men could and started to carry out whatever it was that their Captain ordered.

Prof. Broom wanted to know what the Captain was up to, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to tell him. Instead, the Professor thought it would be best to concentrate on the task at hand, the mysterious snake creature that nearly killed him and the Captain.

"Excuse me, Miss Natasha," he started to address the young woman.

"No miss, just Natasha," she walked passed him without even looking at him.

"My apologies," he turned to follow her, "but if I could please speak to you for a moment. I have some questions concerning our current situation."

She stopped and faced him, "current situation? You want to know about the current situation? Well here it is, one: you are now stuck in this rotting facility with me, Gleb, that conniving German and a snake demon that wants to either eat you or make you join its ranks. Two: our resources are low. And three," she grew very grim, "we are all probably going to die."

Prof. Broom was a little overwhelmed by her bluntness. The tone and determination in her voice weight on his mind, making him feel like it was hopeless. He shook his head to regain his senses; it wasn't hopeless, he hadn't even started.

"There is also the probability that we will not die," he smiled gently; "we came here in search of eleven scientists and to destroy that creature. My fellow agents and I have the equipment and ability. All we need is the information and you seemed to have faced the creature a few times. Whatever you can tell us could point a solution."

Natasha narrowed her eyes, like she was suspicious of his sincere words. It could have been the fact that they just met or maybe she wasn't the trusting type.

"Natasha," Gleb came next to her, "they want to help unlike our employer. True they came for smart men, but they still want to help us. Please tell them want need know," he pleaded.

She rolled her eyes and let out a big huff, "… alright, I will tell you what I know. But first," she added with a small sigh, "I want to sit down."

Natasha pointed to a small card table in the corner of the large room. It looked like it had served as the setting for many card games and meals. Four folding chairs were seated around it, making the scene almost appear normal. She pulled out one of the chairs and heavily set down in it. Prof. Broom and his agents took their place in the remaining three. Gleb took his place next to Natasha.

"Do you mind," Natasha pulled out a cigarette and lighter.

The agents shook their heads no.

She delicately placed the cigarette in her mouth and lit it. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes; maybe to think about where to begin or to take in the flavor of her first puff. Releasing it, a trail of smoke came forth and filled the air.

"This all started," Natasha opened her eyes, "about a month ago…"


	3. A Tail Told

It's a rather unusual thing, me making these chapters so long… at least for me. Usually I start out long, like maybe I get tired of writing so much. However since I've been writing for my graphic novel, I've found myself not being able to stop. Weird, huh? Anyway I don't have much to rant about, if anything. So I will just do the shout out for the last chapter. A nice and lovely shout out goes to Peya Luna (such an interesting penname). It's the first time I've have someone compare one of my characters to a movie character and an Alien reference too. That is so awesome! Thank you so much. Also thank you for saying that my character is not a Mary-Sue. I've tried so hard to make sure my OCs are not some throw away characters… plus the online Mary-Sue tests help out a lot. Okay… I'm done. I will shut up and you all… the few of you that there are… can read the next chapter. Please enjoy.

**Chapter Three**

The humming of the helicopter's engine buzzed through everyone's ears, but Prof. Broom's story buzzed in their minds. He paused on occasion to think about passed events; to make sure that he got every detail right. It was a very interesting story and very exciting. However, the tale that Natasha told him that night was filled with the same action and tragedy.

…

"This all started," Natasha opened her eyes, "about a month ago… when we first arrived at this abandoned facility. Our employer told us wait here until his retrieval group could come and get the scientists. Mind you, my group was not the one that kidnapped them in the first place," she made her point, "we were only to watch over them. I had heard about this place and its… bloody past, but I thought maybe it was over exaggerated or a bunch of men going crazy; it tends to happen out here. Either way, it did not bother me. For the first week nothing happened, just some routine attempted escapes, the usual," she was so casual about it.

"If I may interrupt for a moment," Prof. Broom asked, "how many were in your group when you first arrived?"

"…," she seemed reluctant to answer, but, "fifteen… fifteen men from all sorts of backgrounds. Three Germans, four South Africans, three French and five Russians including me and Gleb," she pointed back to him, "… all are dead except for those you have met. Any other questions before I go on," she was a little irritated.

"No, please continue," Prof. Broom didn't want to anger her.

"Okay then," she took in and released another puff of smoke, "it was about three weeks ago when one of my men disappeared. We were originally camped near the hanger. Close to exit, but hidden enough to where we avoid being seen. Our employer's group was to come any day, but there was still no sign of them. Bernard was out in the hanger, watching for them. He was supposed to come back after an hour… he never did. I and a few others went to go out and find him. The hanger was empty and there was no sign of him going out or even if a struggle took place," Natasha leaned back in her chair, taking in some of the smoke she just exhaled, "Bernard… a good man… but hated the cold. I thought maybe he had gone a little stir crazy, it happens in a place like this as I have said. His fellow county men wanted to go find him, but I was leery to allow them. However," she sighed, "they disobeyed me that night and went out on to the tundra looking for him."

"Did they come back," the Professor was curious.

She narrowed her eyes, giving her a sinister appearance, "yes and no… Gleb, I'm getting tired. You finish the story."

"Huh!? But you were there," he was surprised, "I watch over science men… never even seen creature up close… only four eyes."

She sighed, with a long trail of smoke coming out, "fine. I will finish."

Prof. Broom was a little amazed by her behavior and mannerisms. She seemed completely causally about the entire situation, but she also showed a sadder side when she talked about her fallen friends. She didn't seem to care about much, but she was obviously a passionate person. He wasn't sure which was her real side.

"Harvey and Jacques were found the next morning just outside the hanger, shivering and speaking in… in-co…," she struggled with the word.

"Incoherently," Prof. Broom assisted.

"Yes, thank you," she thanked him, "and would you please come out of hiding and listen to my story over here! I have had enough of things watching me from the shadows," Natasha yelled suddenly.

Prof. Broom looked over to where she was yelling at. From behind a shelving unit, the Captain emerged. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, but Natasha had noticed him.

"Don't say anything and just listen," she warned him, "any questions you might have will be answered with my tale."

The Captain didn't say a word as he came in closer to the group. He must have not wanted a fight.

"As I was saying," she got back on track, "Harvey and Jacques were found the next morning and were incoherent," she smiled at the Professor for a moment then turned serious, "we also noticed that they were injured. Harvey looked like his left arm and left was clawed by a very large predator, but no bite marks that we could tell. Jacques had very similar injuries, except they were mainly on his right arm and they were defiantly bite marks. Nothing like I had ever seen."

"And you're an expert on these sorts of things," the Captain snorted.

"I told you not to talk," she pointed her finger at him, "and yes, I am an expert. My father was a trapper and he took me out on many on occasions… not important to story. Anyway," she went on with a puff of smoke, "for the next few days, we could not get them to warm up. I am surprised that they did not die of hypo… hypothermia," she had to think about the word, "but no, they both just sat in the corner murmuring the same words over and over."

"What were those words," Prof. Broom had a feeling he knew.

"Black Ice," she hissed out.

He was right. The two French men uttered the same words as the Russian and American soldiers. There was a connection, but what did it mean?

Natasha noticed the Professor's expression, but she chose to ignore it, "three days later Jacques disappeared, only the bandages that bonded his wounds remained behind and a trail of his blood. Harvey, not being of sound mind yet, could not tell us where he went. That's when the sounds started," she went to take a puff of her cigarette, but found it to be at the butt.

She rolled her eyes and smashed the still hot end into her hand. Wincing a little, she leaned forward towards the table and sighed. She went to reach for another one, but decided not to.

"I do not want to run out so soon," she smirked as she straightened up, "I followed the blood trail through the facility until I reach a burned out area. The tundra was trying to take it back… it was so cold… unnaturally cold… I have never been so cold," she gave a little shiver; "it was like a mausoleum. I continued to follow the trail up to a strange black crystal. I have never seen anything like it before. Being the curious type," she admitted, "I had to touch it. It was like ice… black ice. I think that's what Harvey and Jacques were referring to. I also noticed something flicker in the ice; I brought up my flashlight… I found where Jacques was."

She lowered her eyes and started to mumble something in Russian. It was rhythmic, like a prayer of some sorts. Gleb lowered head too and started to whisper as well. When she was done, she leaned back in her seat and started once again.

"I have seen when people and animals are pulled from the ice… frozen in time is the best way to describe it. This is what he looked like. However he did not look like he was in pain or even tried to escape. No," Natasha shuttered, "he looked… he looked… I cannot say it…"

Prof. Broom felt sympathy for the young woman. She had seen something that still disturbed her. It was really the first time he looked at her.

Shuttering still, Natasha gritted her teeth and continued, "Either way, Jacques was in the black ice. I wanted to get him out, if only to give a proper burial. I started to head out of the place when I felt like I was being watched. At first I thought it was the unnatural setting that was making me uneasy, but then I heard it. Swish… slither… hiss," she was rather dramatic, "swish… slither… hiss…"

"Oh Natasha please stop that," Gleb quivered, "I no like when you do that."

"… Sorry…," she apologized, "anyway, I kept hearing these strange noises, so I stopped in the middle on the room. My Luger in hand and my flashlight in the other, I scanned the area but did not see a thing. Still the noises persisted. From behind, from the left, from the right… right in front of me the noises came. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. The coils of the creature had started to wrap around the top of the black ice. Its razor sharp claws were digging into the ice, causing it to crack and creak. I have to admit, I was rather… frightened," she seemed to hate to admit, "all I could do was stare as the ice crumbled. The vile snake in the mean time had slither off… I did not know where. The ice tumbled and crashed to floor, dropping Jacques' body with it. I was still frozen by all that I seen. I did not realize that Jacques… had gotten up," her knuckle turned white as she clinched her fists.

"Gotten up? How is that possible," the Captain asked.

"He was not human anymore… that is why," she answered him, "as he hit the floor, his body began to change. Elongating… twisting… he was changing into a snake. The change did not seem complete though. There were patches of black scales still forming; his legs were slowly withering away, his arms growing larger and longer with every passing moment. He started to move towards me, half walking and half slithering. He was whispering something, but my French is not so good. That is when from behind me, something came stumbling. I woke up from my stupor and turned around. It was Harvey; he had managed to find his way into the mausoleum. He looked straight at Jacques and started to speak in his native tongue. Again, I did not understand. After a short conversation, Harvey turned to me and said…"

"Natasha he wants to die," he said, "he wants you to kill him before the hunger gets the better of him. Do him this favor; he will not hold it against you."

"… What," I stared at him in disbelief, "before he could repeat himself, he was pulled up into air… into darkness. Harvey screamed, then nothing… except for the sound of something dripping. Where he was pulled up from, a pool of blood was forming. A shriek came from behind me. Jacques slithered passed me quickly; heading for the pool of blood. He started to lap it up with his still human tongue."

Prof. Broom thought back to body they found in the hanger and the man that was attacked by the smaller snake creature, "they feed upon blood. It almost sounds like a…"

"A Nosferatu," she finished for him, "yes, I came to a similar conclusion."

"What is a Nos… Nosfur… whatever she said," the Captain asked.

"Nosferatu is the Romanian word for Vampire," the Prof. Broom explained, "They feed upon the blood of the living and transforms their victims into Vampires."

"Are you telling me that we have a giant Vampire snake running around this base, transforming mercenaries, soldiers and scientists into creatures like it," the Captain didn't believe what he was hearing.

Prof. Broom was having a little bit of a hard time believing it himself. In all his research, he had never come across a creature quite like this. He had researched snake demons and gods of other countries, but no where in the Russian folklore or mythology was there ever mentioned a vampiric snake.

"If you do not want to believe me then that is your problem," she snapped, "I know what I saw that day. I know what I did… I know what I have done since," she narrowed her eyes.

"And what did you do that day," the Captain asked sarcastically.

"I killed Jacques and Harvey that day and tried to kill that thing," she slammed her fists down on the card table, "ever since then I've had to kill my comrades so they do not kill the rest of us, but I could not prevent the dwindle of our numbers… I grow tried," she stood up suddenly, "I do not want to talk anymore."

"Hold on there Missy," the Captain blocked her path, "I still have questions for you and you're going to answer them tonight," he grabbed her shoulder roughly.

Natasha narrowed her eyes, again giving her a sinister appearance, "I allowed you to take my gun earlier because I know when to pick my fights, but" she warned, "you better know when to pick your's."

"And do you mean by that… Commie," he shouldn't have said that.

"Grr," she gritted her teeth.

With one swift move, she grabbed the Captain's arm and twisted it behind his back. He tried to pull away from her, but she quickly tripped him. He was able to recover enough so that he landed on his knees.

"Do not ever call me that again," she pulled on his arm, "I am not a Commie. I am a proud Russian," she let him go, "and that is all I am. I am not part of the Crap they call the Soviet Union."

The Captain fell forward, holding his wrist in his other hand. Looking back at her, he sneered at her, but didn't say a word. More or less, he was following her advice and was picking his fights.

"Professor," Natasha looked over at him, "do you have any question before I go?"

"Yes. The creature, can it get in here," he chose his question wisely.

She sighed, "No… it does not seem to like the heat and it is not overly fond of the light either. This Vault is on a separate electrically source and keeps this place warm and lit. It might claw at the door and make all sorts of noises to scare us, but this place is strong and has protected us for the last two weeks… how much longer it can… I do not know."

Prof. Broom didn't want to ask anything further; he had a feeling she wouldn't answer him anyway. She was a woman that was set on getting some rest. Walking away from the group she pulled off her heavy coat. He was rather surprised that she was able to stand the heat for as long as she did. Even he when he first entered the Vault, as she called it, he had to take off his winter coat. Most of the men had removed their out layers that were meant for the harsh Russian winter.

"She been cold since that day," Gleb seemed to read the Professor's mind, "the snake's scratches seem to make people cold, like Harvey and Jacques… they shiver long time. Never warm again… never will be…"

"She was injured by the creature," he wondered if she needed medical attention, "when?"

"Day in mas… mas… the word she use for snake's hiding place, snake angry with her for killing Jacques. Try to kill her, only Natasha too fast," Gleb explained, "only give scratches down back… been cold ever since… strange yes?"

"Yes, it is very unusual," the Professor admitted.

"But you kill it, right? Take no more friends or nice people," he asked.

Prof. Broom sighed, "We will certainly try. Right now, I and my team must compile the data to see what this creature is and how to possible destroy it."

Gleb smile, "you good man, like the nice science men. They were very nice to me… no treat Gleb like… like… what is word that Günter call me all the time?"

"Whatever it may be, most likely it isn't nice," the Captain finally stood up; Gleb helped him the rest of the way.

"A change of heart Captain," Prof. Broom raised his eyebrow.

"No… I just prefer a Commie over a Nazi," the Captain turned away; "she at least speaks a language I understand, action. That Günter guy, well… he's just an ass and puts himself above everyone. Typical," he said under his breath.

"Not all Günter's people bad. Deidrick was good. Rendor good too," Gleb defended his fallen comrades, "they… were… nice," a tear formed in his eye.

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, the Professor felt sorry for the large man, "come now Gleb. It will be alright."

"Thank you," he wiped his eye.

Rattle… clank… BOOM… noises came from above them.

"I thought she said it won't come in here," the Captain pulled out his handgun.

"No… not snake… sound different," Gleb tried to listen.

"How can you be sure," Prof. Broom asked as he followed the noise.

"Trust him," Natasha came back into area, "he is here all the time. He has heard when the creature is trying to scare us out more than anyone," her eyes focused on an air vent, "Captain, let me have my gun back, please… and with the bullets."

The Captain trained his gun on the vent, while he reached for her handgun. She took it and loaded the bullets. Nodding at Gleb, she moved towards the air vent. Gleb followed after her as did the Captain; he had a flashlight ready to see into the dark space. Natasha leaned up against the wall while Gleb pulled the grate from the wall. She took in a deep breath and swiveled around to face the now open vent.

Clank… boom… noise were still coming from the vent as she bravely stuck her head inside.

"See something," Gleb asked quietly.

"I need more light," she motioned for the Captain.

He moved in closer, allowing more light to penetrate the darkness. For what seemed like hours, she looked around in the vent for anymore signs of movement.

"There," she finally said, but she didn't seem alarmed.

"Is it snake," Gleb started to shutter.

"… no… something else," she crawled further in, "something red, has a tail and a stone hand?"

"Oh… oh no," Prof. Broom had a sinking suspicion he knew what was making those noises.


	4. Doorway

I must apologize for the lateness of my updates (on all my stories). My old computer died and my back-up… well… let's say it didn't do its job. I know, I know, excuses, excuses. But that's all I've got. So for the last few months I've been trying to reconstruct my various stories… long, tedious work. Unfortunately I was not able to retrieve any of my notes, chapters and other various information I had for this story or any other and had to start all over. So this is the fruit of my labor… I hope it's good… really I do.

Sorry, almost forgot. I would like to thank Peya Luna for another lovely review. And thanks go out to all who took their time to read my story. Much Thanks!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"Something red," Abe looked over at Hellboy.

"Has a tail," Liz also began to stare.

"And has a stone hand," they said together.

"What," Hellboy tried to act innocent.

…

"Not snake then," Gleb seemed a little relieved.

"No… I'm not sure…," Natasha nearly disappeared inside the dark vent.

"Natasha I think that…," Prof. Broom started.

"Got it," Natasha suddenly yelled.

She started to pull out of the vent, struggling along the way. Gleb took a step back and hid behind the Captain. Prof. Broom, on the other hand, came forward to help Natasha with whatever she was pulling out. With more one good tug, both Natasha and Prof. Broom pulled a something that was desperately squirming to get away. They both fell backwards with the Professor landing on the ground, Natasha landing on top of him and the vent creature on top on her.

"What in the world is that," the Captain drew his gun.

"More bad creatures," Gleb started to quake and retreated to a corner.

"It is alright Captain," Prof. Broom held up his hand, "he is not dangerous… he is my son."

"Son," Natasha raised her eyebrow.

Everyone looked to the Professor, while he sternly glared down at his son.

…

"It was a rather long explanation I had to give to the Captain and Natasha," Prof. Broom gave a small chuckle.

"I bet Hellboy had a longer one," Liz whispered to Abe with a little laugh.

"Ha ha ha," Hellboy rolled his eyes as he sarcastically laughed.

"Yes," Prof. Broom confirmed, "he did and the whole time he hid behind Natasha as he explained how he got there."

…

The sound of light snoring echoed in the small empty room. Most of the soldiers were asleep, except for two who were on guard duty. The investigators were asleep as well. The Captain, himself, was looking around the Vault. Natasha and Gleb had gone to what they called their room, an old office. The other man, Günter, had gone back to hiding in the closet that the soldiers had originally found in. Prof. Broom was checking in on his son.

"Zzzz…," the young demon snored loudly.

Prof. Broom gave a hushed chuckle as Hellboy snuggled up in the blanket. He was still angry with him for coming along, but he understood why his son had to come. The Professor had gone on a lot of missions lately, leaving Hellboy at the Department with guardians and investigators. He did fell a guilty for that and he wanted to spend more time with Hellboy, but this wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"Sleep well," Prof. Broom put his blanket on Hellboy.

As quietly as he could, Prof. Broom stepped around the sleeping soldiers and investigators. Closely the door slowly, he entered the main room of the Vault. It was a large room that had many hallways that led to an assortment of rooms. Some resembled offices, others were like laboratories. There was one room, that actually looked like a freezer or a true vault, that neither Natasha nor Gleb would enter. Gleb wouldn't enter it because Natasha wouldn't; she said that the place reeked of blood and the walls echoed with the dying cries of men. The Professor wasn't sure if Natasha was being dramatic or had gone a little crazy, both were likely. He decided to take a look for himself, there might be clues pertaining to the origin of the creature in any one of the rooms including that one.

Walking down the single hallway, he looked from side to side, checking out the different rooms. Most of them were stripped of the items they use to contain; either books and papers or equipment. He slowly came up to large metal door that lead to the freezer/vault. It looked like any other metal door that he had seen; there seemed to be nothing extraordinary about it. Reaching for the handle, the Professor took in a deep breath. As he took hold of the smooth, cold handle he felt a heaviest come upon him. It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His hand felt like it had turned to ice and in the pit of his stomach, a sickness began to rise. It was unbearable; wrenching his hand from the door, Prof. Broom took a few steps back and collapsed to his knees. The contents of his stomach came forward as he hit the ground. He had never felt anything like this before. The overwhelming feeling of dread and disgusting was too much.

"I told you," a hand gently began to rub his back, "not to come here."

"Natasha," Prof. Broom looked up, but immediately turned his head, for he felt another thump forming in his throat.

"It's alright Professor, I did the first time I tried to enter the God forsaken place," Natasha continued to rub his back, "however," she pulled him up and put his arm around her shoulder, "we shouldn't stay in a place like this for too long."

She steadied the Professor as them made their way back to the main room. With his arm around her, he felt what Gleb said before; she was as cold as ice.

…

"Wow Professor," Liz stared in amazement, "I don't think I've ever heard you losing it before."

"He didn't lose it," Hellboy defended his father.

"Well actually Red he did technically lose his…," Abe started.

The Professor cleared his throat, "I was younger then and not as experienced as I am now. If I had encountered what I did now, I might react differently. However," he sighed, "it was a good learning experience and a rather humbling one…"

…

Natasha helped Prof. Broom to a chair at the folding table. He hung his head, not in shame for his reaction, but because he was still quite sick to his stomach. She must have noticed his distress and went to get something. Coming back with a bucket, she place it in-between his legs.

"Thank you," he managed to get out.

"No talk," she hushed him, "just sit and let your nerves and stomach settle down. It took me about half an hour the first time."

Prof. Broom was going to ask her about the room, but the thump in his throat prevented him.

"That room… freezer… vault, whatever it is," she shrugged her shoulders, "something happen in there… something not good, like the snake's lair," she leaned back in one of the chairs and lit up a cigarette, "this place should have been burned down to the ground a long time ago. My grandmother always said that a place haunted by evil spirits should be burned down and the land be blessed with salt… I wonder if there's enough salt in the world to contain a place like this," she semi-asked as she blew out a long trail of smoke, "your son… he is very brave," she changed the subject.

"Brave yes, looks before he leaps, no," Prof. Broom said from his uncomfortable position.

"Ha ha," Natasha laughed with smoke expelling from her nostrils, "yes, but boys are like that. They do then they think."

Prof. Broom couldn't help but smile at her observation.

"Feeling better I see," she noticed his smile, "good."

"Are you okay Father," a small sleepy voice asked.

"Hellboy," the Professor looked up, "you should be asleep," he tried to sound stern.

"I know, but I kept hearing these strange noises," he rubbed his eyes, "is sounds like when that snake was stuck in the air vents that one time."

Professor Broom wanted to say it was nothing, but he didn't want to lie his son. He also didn't want to explain the giant vampiric snake slithering around the base. Natasha must have sensed his internal debate.

"it is only the wind little one," she smile, "it often plays tricks on those who are not use to the tundra. Come," she motioned for Hellboy to come and sit with her.

He slowly made his way over to her. Natasha picked him up and set him on her lap and wrapped her arms around him.

"Your arms are cold," Hellboy noticed.

Before Prof. Broom could say something, Natasha did, "my mother use to say, "Cold hands, warm heart."

"Well you must have a really warm heart," Hellboy smiled.

Both the Professor and Natasha smiled at the boy's innocent remark.

…

"Aw, that's so cute," Liz threw a smirk in Hellboy's direction.

"Huh," Hellboy was cleaning out his ear, like he didn't care, "what did you say?"

Abe gave a small laugh and the Professor smiled. Liz was more or less frustrated.

"So what happen next," Abe was interested to hear the rest of the story.

…

SCREECH! CRACK! SLITHER! Unworldly noises broke the peace of the moment.

"Was… that the… wind," Hellboy held on to Natasha.

"No… no… that was the giant, blood drinking snake," she was rather calm.

Prof. Broom couldn't help but sigh at Natasha's bluntness.


	5. A Plan is Born

Ahh… it feels good to be writing again. I really missed it. It's very liberating for the soul and mind. I think more people should write, even if it's just for them. Anyway, not did I only miss writing; I miss having people read and review. It's a wonderful feeling to know that I might be entertaining someone. No rants today, just me saying thank you to those who review and read. So shout outs go to Peya Luna for another lovely review and so far the only returning reviewer. Oh well, reviews don't matter, sharing my delusional ideas is really what it's all about. The reviews are a nice little bonus for me.

See you all next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

The little red demon kept trying to peer through the men's arms to see what they were doing. The soldiers and agents kept moving, blocking his view. Prof. Broom noticed his son's distress, but motioned for him to stop trying. Hellboy scrunched up his nose and gave a huff; he was never allowed to see anything fun. He started to walk away, but Gleb stopped him. The large man picked him up and put the now happy child on his burly shoulder. They both looked down on what everyone was discussing.

"This is the latest map of the facility," the Captain asked Natasha again.

She began to curse in Russian under her breath, and then looked the Captain in the eye, "yes for the hundredth time. It's the one I've been using when I go out looking for supplies. It has been very accurate so far. There are a few areas that cannot be accessed because the building has begun to collapse," she stared to point and circle the different locations.

"And where is the lair of the creature," Prof. Broom asked as he stared down at the map.

"Here," she pointed to what looked like a large storage area on the opposite side of the facility.

"And where has it mainly been seen," the Captain was curious.

"It use to stick to the hanger and the main hallways," she traced a path with her finger, "but since our numbers dwindled, it has moved closer to the Vault and I've heard it in the Mess Hall area. It learned that's where I and my men were going almost every day."

"Is there anywhere in particular that it seems to avoid," the Professor asked.

Natasha straightened up and thought for a moment, "no place I can think of…"

"Oh Natasha," Gleb raised his hand in excitement, nearly causing Hellboy to fall off, "sorry little one."

"It's okay," Hellboy forgave him easily.

"Gleb," Natasha wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Oh yes," he remembered, however he started to speak in Russian.

Natasha raised her eyebrows in surprise, like she too remembered something. She excitedly started to speak in Russian as well. They conversed back and forth in their native tongue; all the men could do was listen to the foreign words.

"I hate to interrupt the Commie talk," the Captain was getting frustrated, "but what are you two talking about?!"

Gleb and Natasha stared at each other for a moment, and the Natasha released a frustrated sigh.

"We were talking about a passageway that the Snake seems to avoid. Its right here," she pointed to a long hallway that had three larger rooms coming off it.

There were labels under each one, but of course they were in Russian.

"What do they contain," Prof. Broom pondered.

"Not what the map says, I think," Natasha snorted, "I was able to only enter one room," she indicated on the map.

"What does the map say," the Captain asked.

"The first one says it is an ammunition storage room. The second is a barracks… strange place for one," she commented, "and the third one is suppose to be a conference hall, it was some type of church or chapel… not sure which… doesn't matter," she seemed to say to herself, "I couldn't get into the other rooms because the doors required a key."

"If that room is really an ammunition room, then I've got your key for you," the Captain put his hand on his gun.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Americans, like everything can be fixed with your guns."

"Look who's talking," the Captain said under his breath.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she hissed, "besides, if you use that in the hallway, you'll bury yourself alive. It is very unstable there and one reason why I didn't go back there."

"What were the others? Let me guess…," the Captain was starting to provoke her.

"Another time Captain," Prof. Broom stopped the possible fight, "right now we have to figure out how we're going to get pass that creature and start gathering supplies."

"Hmph, do you really think this flame… flame…ahh," she couldn't think of what Prof. Broom explained earlier.

"Flamethrower," Prof. Broom explained, "I think if we can find the right equipment and ingredients, we could construct one. With it, we should be able to hold off the creature while we escape."

"And what about destroying it," the Captain was thinking ahead.

"Leave that to me," Natasha brought out her gun.

"Yes, because that worked so well before," the Captain made a snide remark.

"Natasha," Prof. Broom put his hand on her shoulder, "I think it's going to take more than a gun to destroy that foul beast."

"This," she pulled away from him, "is merely for protection. I'm going to blow that thing to kingdom come."

"Natasha," Prof. Broom started.

"Now listen here Missy," the Captain interrupted, "you have explosives and you didn't tell us!? We could have been out of here last night if you would have said something!"

"You didn't ask," Natasha smirked.

"Why you little," the Captain made an aggressive motion.

They started at one another, but the soldiers held back their Captain and Gleb took hold of Natasha with one arm. The Captain was yelling threats at her and Prof. Broom could only assume that Natasha was doing the same in Russian.

"Please stop," Gleb pleaded, "no time for fight. Need to go through with Professor's plan. Work together. Get out together."

Both Natasha and the Captain stopped their yelling and settled down. Each side let go of their respective person. Luckily they decided not to go at it.

Ignoring the two steaming individuals, Prof. Broom turned to his fellow agents, "we have to come up with a way to destroy the Snake, just in case we are unable to construct the flamethrower or if it doesn't work. Natasha," he turned to her, "was there any religious artifacts left in the chapel you found?"

She narrowed her eyes in thought, "yes… there was a large crucifix and maybe some… holy ice," she smirked.

The Professor smiled, "the heat doesn't work there I assume."

"You better dress warm," she stepped pass him.

…

"You really were going to risk lives to find components for something you weren't sure was going to work," Liz admired the Professor's reckless.

"It was the only option," he assured her, "otherwise we were stuck in the Vault, which had dwindling supplies; for however long we could last."

"Surely the U.S. army would have sent a rescue party," Abe commented.

Hellboy shook his head, "wasn't an official mission. All the soldiers were volunteers."

Liz and Abe looked at one another in amazement.

"You mean they went on a mission without knowing what they were getting into," Abe asked.

"Technically we all did," Prof. Broom answered, "we weren't sure what we were facing. To this day, I still don't know what we encountered," he stared out the window.

…

"But I want to go with you father," Hellboy whined.

"And I want you to stay here with Gleb and the agents," Prof. Broom tried to explain to his upset son.

"But father," he continued to whine.

"Little one," Natasha bent down, "you cannot go with us."

"Why," Hellboy looked down at the floor.

"Because," she drew him closer, "I need you to watch after Gleb. He gets scared easily. Do me a big favor and take good care of him; he's one of my closest and dearest friends. Will you do this for me? That," she added, "and I would feel real guilty if you were eaten by the snake. Okay?"

Hellboy looked up at her, "okay," he agreed.

"Thank you little one," she rubbed his head hard as she stood up.

As she got up, Prof. Broom noticed her wincing in pain. It was the first time that he really looked at her. Her dark brown eyes were so weary and tried; maybe he didn't notice because her long brown was always in her face. Her body, though built, was shaking and trembling. She was tired, but she couldn't rest.

"You going to be able to do this," the Captain saw her struggling to get up.

She straightened up and threw a smirk in the Captain's direction, "you and your men going to be able to stay alive?"

They both smirked. The Captain turned away and started to go over the plan with his men. Natasha motioned for Gleb to come over. She started to speak to him, in Russian, about something. The name Günter came up and the Professor knew she was telling him to keep an eye on the German. Gleb nodded his head and went over to Hellboy. He held out his hand and smiled. Hellboy took the outstretched hand and smiled back. Prof. Broom was proud of his son for being strong.

"Time to go Commie, Professor," the Captain wanted to go.

"Last time," Natasha huffed, "not Commie!"

As she walked passed him, she made sure to stomp on his foot.

"OUCH," the Captain yelled as the feisty Russian dug the heel of her boot into his foot.

"You have to admit that you deserved that," the Professor gave a small laugh.

The Captain grumbled as he followed after Natasha. The soldiers looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders. There really was nothing they could do. Prof. Broom, along with two of his agents, quickly followed them.

"Behave Hellboy," the Professor said farewell to his son, "we'll be back real soon."

"Goodbye father," Hellboy waved, "Natasha, please take care of everyone," he seemed worried.

She looked over her shoulder, "you take care of Gleb; I take care of your father and friends."

Prof. Broom gave one last look to his son, he waving with his stone hand and a sad expression filled his face. The Professor knew that he must be strong for Hellboy if they were going to make it out alive. Long had he told his son about the supernatural and the beings that existed, he had never actually seen them up close and personal. Prof. Broom was more or less hoping Hellboy's first encounter would be less deadly. There was, however, nothing he could do, but try to complete the mission set before him.

Natasha stopped at the steel door for a moment and took in a deep breath. Slowly she turned the wheel to unlock the door, took hold of the handle and pushed the heavy door open. She peered around and signaled for the Captain to hold up his flashlight. His single beam pierced the darkness of the hallway. Pipes lined the walls and water dripped from the ceiling, making the light bounce off the surrounding metal. All the shadows seemed sinister in nature, also most daring the group to come to their doom.

"Well… standing around isn't going to get anything done," Natasha took the first step out.

The group followed cautiously, holding their guns at ready just in case the snake decided to show its face. The door behind them closed and the sound of the lock echoed through the hallway, sending a feeling of dread with it. They all knew that the only way to go was forward. They had a mission to complete and it all depended on if they could find what was needed.

"Remember, we need to find at least three intact tanks," the Captain was going through the equipment checklist, "preferable gas filled ones, a hose that can stand high temperatures, a nozzle, a large backpack or something sturdy to hold the tanks… we can always Jerry Rig something," he said proudly.

Natasha and the soldiers snickered at the Captain's emphasis on jury rig.

"I'll have to use that when Günter is around," Natasha continued to snickered.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand," Prof. Broom was a little confused.

"Ha, you never went to war did you Professor," the Captain explained, "Jerry is a slang word for German soldiers… not the nicest one either from what my British friend told me."

"I see," he wasn't impressed.

The snickering subsided as the small grouped made their way down the hallway. It was time to be serious. Their lives were in danger; any moment they weren't paying attention was a moment when they might be pulled up into the ceiling and never seen again. Any slight noise or movement caused them to jump and jerk. Most of it was their minds playing tricks on them, but they couldn't let down their guard; it was just too dangerous.

An hour later…

"How much farther," the Captain whispered up to Natasha.

"Not much," she whispered back, "it should be the next right."

"It took longer than I thought," he was getting jumpy.

"Sorry, but I wanted to stick to the passageways with lower ceilings," she explained, "The snake wouldn't be able to get the drop on us then."

"Clever," the Captain commented.

"How do you think I survived for a month in here," she said over her shoulder, "… there, there's the hallway with the chapel," she pointed.

Just about four yards from their current position, there was a hallway the lead off to the right, just like she and the map said.

"Way to go…," the Captain started.

"Call me Commie and I will knock you so hard in the…," she was on the defensive.

"I was going to say," he interrupted her, "way to go… Comrade," he smirked.

Prof. Broom was surprised to see that Natasha wasn't offended. In fact, she smiled, but only for a moment. The group hurried to what could have been a safe place; they weren't really sure. Most breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the hallway, but the Captain, Natasha and Prof. Broom were still on edge.

"Well… we made it," Natasha scanned the area.

"Yup… we did," the Captain sighed, "now begins the hard part. Men split up like we discussed and meet in the chapel in an hour."

The Captain and three soldiers headed of what should be the ammunition storage. Natasha with two soldiers went towards the barracks and Prof. Broom, two agents the last two soldiers made their way to the chapel. As he walked down the dimly lit, the Professor prayed that this excursion would not be in vain and all would return safely. It is all he could do now; he just had to leave the rest to fate.


	6. Treasure Hunt

Oh happy days! I'm on a roll with this story… for now. It's very exciting someone who had to deal with losing a laptop and a flash drive full of stories, ideas and many other significant things… still not happy about that… sorry. But I did need something to rant about… that's it… so… I guess I'll do the shout out(s). Peya Luna, again thank you for the wonderful review. And of course, thanks go out to all the people who took their time to read this story.

If you want to see your name in a story or at least in the top portion (up here) and not have to work for it, just write a simple review. Good or bad, long or short, simple or complex (not too complex though), it doesn't matter. Either way, you'll be mentioned in the next chapter. Many thanks.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Clouds seemed to be gathering as the helicopter made its way destination. They always gathered on the day Prof. Broom went to her grave. It was like the world knew how he felt and wanted to say it felt the same. Maybe it was all a coincidence?

"I hate to interrupt," Abe questioned, "but how were the others going to get into the locked rooms if they couldn't use explosives or projectiles?"

The Professor smiled, "luck was on our side; one of the soldiers knew how to pick locks. He was able to open the doors without much trouble."

"That was quite fortunate," Abe's curiosity was satisfied.

"And were you with Gleb and the others," Liz eyed Hellboy.

"Of course, I was a good boy," he answered snottily.

…

Prof. Broom with his agents and soldiers entered the small chapel. It was smaller than the main room of the Vault and had six pews set up on each side. The altar was like most he had seen; plain and simple, enough to hold a nice service. There was a large Crucifix standing over the altar table. Prof. Broom gave a small bow as a sign of respect.

"I see what the Russian meant by holy ice," one of the soldiers was poking at a dish near the doorway.

"We should collect it," the Professor investigated the dish, "just in case."

His agents carefully placed the contents of the dish in one of their bags, hoping that it didn't melt. Prof. Broom headed for the altar to see if there were other holy artifacts that might be useful. The soldiers used some matches to light a few candles that still had wicks and wax. It made the room a little brighter, but the Professor still needed a flashlight. As he approached the altar, the light bounced off a silver chalice. It was placed in the middle of the altar table, like it was placed for a service or abandoned in the middle of one. He looked down into it; it still had wine, though it was frozen.

"What a waste," a soldier came up behind the Professor, "too bad it's froz… AHH," he suddenly reared back.

"What," the Professor whipped around thinking the snake at penetrated the sanctity of the chapel.

"Body," the soldier nervously pointed to the altar.

"Hmm," Prof. Broom stepped behind the altar, "oh… the poor soul."

It was a man in a tattered uniform. He was in the fetal position with his hand poised for prayer. His face contorted in pain and his lips frozen mid-prayer.

"It appears that he died of hypothermia," one of the agents observed.

"No look over here," the other pointed his flashlight above the head of the unfortunate man, "he bled out."

He was right; there was a large pool of blood under the man. But unlike the other victim, this man's blood seemed to be all there. At least it didn't look like it was lapped up.

"This man's death has provided us with an answer," the Professor sighed, "too bad it was at the cost of his life. The creature cannot enter a place with holy relics…"

Though this was a significant find, the Professor couldn't help but feel sorry for the soldier. The uniform was so tatter, he couldn't even tell if he was a Russian or American soldier. Either way, he didn't deserve to die the way he did.

"That's a Commie's uniform… an older one," one of the soldiers comment, "you think he was a mercenary?"

"You'd have to ask the Russian," the other shrugged.

"Her name is Natasha," Prof. Broom was getting tired of everyone referring to her as Commie or the Russian, "and as I recalled, yesterday she saved our lives from an unknown demon."

"Ya and she also killed two her comrades," the soldier pointed out.

He sighed, "Are you saying that you wouldn't want your fellow soldier to save you from the same fate? Would you want to become a blood thirsty beast that had no thought or feeling? Can you truly say that you would prefer that over death and salvation? What she had to do was probably one of the hardest things she's ever had to do. Could you do the same thing if one of us is turned?"

His words struck hard and deep; the soldiers didn't have a comeback for that. Maybe he was a little too harsh, but it felt right. Because of her, they might have a chance to escape. That is, if they can find everything they need.

Scratch… Hiss… Creak… sounds started to emanate from the ceiling. The soldiers instantly took aim was where the noises were coming from.

"Hold on," the Prof. whispered, "I don't think it can come in here."

"I hope you're right," the soldiers hissed.

The noises continue, but they weren't as loud as they were in the Vault. Was it that the creature was trying to scare them out from a place of sanctuary? Could it not come in or any closer?

Screech!!! A horrible scream filled the air. It was so loud that everyone had to cover their ears. Even with their hands over their ears, the screeching penetrated their heads.

BANG! A gunshot rang through the air, silencing that terrible noise.

"Where did that come from," one of the agents asked a little loudly.

"Sounded likes it come from the room on the other side," one soldier commented.

"Both rooms are on the other side," the other snidely remarked.

"Should we investigate," an agent came up behind the Professor.

It was a hard decision to make. If they left the chapel, they could risk being attacked. If they didn't they might be risking the lives of their friends.

"Professor," the agent whispered.

"I'll be right back," he made his decision.

Cautiously, he made way to the door and peeked out. There was no sign of life in the empty hallway and it was rather disturbing.

"Captain… Natasha," he loudly whispered.

"Prof. Broom…," a hushed voice answered back.

"Captain," he recognized the voice "was that your group that fired off the shot."

"… Yes…," the Captain was reluctant to admit that, "it sounded like the snake was right above us."

"I thought I told you not to Fire in here," the irritated voice of Natasha joined in, "you could have caused the whole place to collapse!"

"And you yelling is not helping," the Captain argued back.

"All you had to do was wait it out. It cannot enter this place… or so it appears that it cannot," she wasn't sure of herself.

"It can't," the Professor confirmed, "there is… there is a dead man in here and he seems to be untouched."

There was a period of silence.

"Is he in uniform," the Captain asked.

"Russian, from what your men can determine," the Professor answered.

"Older uniform, has salt and pepper hair and an eye patch over the left eye," Natasha's voice cracked.

Prof. Broom looked back to one of his agents who was still standing over the body. He checked and then nodded his head.

"Yes," the Professor confirmed.

"… Ivan…," she sniffled, "I thought the creature got him a week ago. I guess he managed to make it to the chapel… I should have… I should have come for him…"

"It's not your fault Commie," the Captain tried to sound sincere, "you didn't know."

"…," she was silent, "… someone hit him for me…"

"You can do it when we get back to the Vault, right now we need to finish what we came to do," the Captain was serious, "how are things coming along?"

"The chapel has a few relics that might prove useful," the Professor answered, "and you?"

"Luckily the map was right and this is an ammunition storage room," the Captain sounded satisfied, "there's lots of weapons and explosives in here and a few things we need for the flamethrower. How is your group doing down there?"

"It's not a barracks," his soldier answered, "it's some kind of store room. There's lots of books and strange… umm… things in here."

"And lots of vodka," Natasha seemed happy about that.

"Save it for later," the Captain sounded excited too.

"I think we need the Professor down here," the soldier continued, "He might know what half of this stuff is."

"Prof. Broom you think you can take a look at it," the Captain was mildly interested.

"I'll come and get him," Natasha volunteered.

She barely made a noise as she came down the hallway. The Professor could tell when she stopped to make sure it was all clear. While he waited for her, he tried to think of the snake creature couldn't enter the other two rooms. Did they also contain holy relics? Or were they in such close proximity to the chapel that dared not to go any closer? Why were these three rooms so different from the other parts of the facility? And why would the map mislabel the rooms? Was it to hide something?

So many questions were swarming through the Professor's mind didn't realize that Natasha was standing in the door.

"Professor," she interrupted his thoughts, "are you okay?"

"Yes… sorry," he snapped back to reality, "I was trying to figure something out."

"Think later," she cautiously looked around, "a mind in a daze equals to a body in the ground."

She was blunt, but she was also right. Prof. Broom concentrated on the task at hand and pushed his many unanswered questions to the back of his mind. Natasha motioned for him follow her, but quietly. They started down the dark hallway; the Professor wasn't sure how she was able to navigate through the pitch blackness.

Slither… slither… slither… a horribly familiar noise came from behind them.

"… run…," Natasha pushed the Professor ahead of her.

He almost fell, but he was able to gain his footing. She was right behind him, urging him to go faster. The slithering hurried its pace as soon as they started to run.

"Turn left at the door," Natasha yelled, "turn on your flashlight," she must have been yelling to the soldiers.

A single light pierced the darkness, lighting the way to possible safety. Prof. Broom headed towards it as fast as he could.

Swoosh… something came over their heads. The force of it caused both the Professor and Natasha to fall down. Prof. Broom looked up, the light that was once illuminating the path to sanctuary now made an outline of a monstrous figure.

"Damn, I didn't think it would not come in the hallway," Natasha pulled at the Professor to help him up.

Four red eyes stared down and through them. Its hissing filled the air as it started to advance towards them. They both started to back away, trying to get up along the way.

"DUCK," the Captain yelled from behind them.

"NO," Natasha halted him, "the place will collapse!"

"I'll take the chance," he didn't listen as he fired off a few rounds into the giant snake.

Prof. Broom went down to the ground and covered his ears instantly. Natasha did the same, but took out her gun and started to fire as well. The snake shielded itself from the onslaught of bullets but they were having little effect. She must have noticed this and decided to take a different approach.

The shot stopped as the Captain was trying to place other clip in his gun. Natasha took advantage of this and rushed towards the still guarding snake. Prof. Broom saw a flash in the barely visible light; she was going to take on the demon with her hunting knife.

"No Natasha," he called out, "there's another way."

It was too late; she brought her knife back and thrust it towards the creature's chest.

Crack… clink clink… the metal blade fell to the floor.

"DAMN," she tried to jump back.

But it was too late; the giant snake had her in its grip. With only one massive hand, it had both of her arms. It instantly wrapped its tail around her legs to prevent her from kicking. She struggled as hard as she could to get loose from it, but it was in vain.

"Shoot it," she yelled out, "aim for its eyes."

Prof. Broom looked to see what the Captain was going to do. To his surprise, the Captain's hand was shaking, like he was afraid to shoot.

"Please shoot it," she continued to plead, "I do not want to end up like it."

"It's now or ever," Prof. Broom drew forth all his courage.

Digging into his bag, he drew out his rosary. He picked himself and charged towards the snake. It didn't seem to notice him, which work to the Professor advantage. Taking the Cross, Prof. Broom pushed it into the side of the foul beast. The skin began to crackle and burn as he dug it in. The snake released an ear piercing scream; it dropped Natasha and concentrated on the Professor. He withdrew the Cross and started to run towards Natasha. The creature, however, had other plans. Whipping its massive arm around, it knocked him back like he was nothing. The snake, however, wasn't interested in him; it turned immediately back to Natasha.

"Die you son of a whore," Natasha took a big mouthful of liquid from a bottle.

She held up her lighter, flicked the wheel and the flame was lit. She expelled the liquid from her mouth, directly into the flame. A fireball erupted in front of her and blew in the direction of the snake's face. It screeched in pain as its face was set ablaze. Holding its head, trying to put out the flames, it flew down the hallway. As it slithered away, the path was illuminated with a strange light.

"Natasha, are you okay," Prof. Broom got up with pain.

The Captain to his side and helped him up. They both made their way over to the still sitting woman.

"Hey Commie," the Captain was trying to snap her out of it, "are you crazy!?"

She looked over at them; there still appeared to be some liquid left in her cheeks. With a hard gulp, she released a dry cough.

"That… was a high proof vodka," Natasha nodded her head, "definitely a High Proof. Huh," she lifted her hand, "oops… not again."

She shook her hand up and down; her metal lighter had badly burned her hand.

Natasha sighed, "I think I need medical attention… yes… I definitely need medical attention."


	7. Conversations

I really have nothing to say up this time around… weird huh? I guess I spent all my words on the story. Oh well, I'll go ahead and do the shout out. Peya Luna, thank you for another wonderful review. It's nice to know someone out there is enjoying the story. See you all later!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The supplies laid out before them, four empty tanks, a sturdy steel frame, nylon straps and a possible fuel…

"You are NOT using the vodka for fuel," Natasha was arguing with the Captain.

"And what else are we going to use it for," he asked.

"I think of twenty four good reasons," she eyed the case.

"Reason number one: it's flammable," the Captain was putting his foot down, "we have to use it. There was no gas in any of the rooms and we need something that burns. Your little fire breathing show yesterday proved that this stuff is as volatile as gasoline."

She curled her lip in a growl, "and I have other uses for it, just in case your flamethrower doesn't work. I prefer to have a backup plan."

"And that would be," the Captain folded his arms.

"It's a secret," Natasha headed for the case of vodka.

"Don't think so," he stood in her way.

"Remember what I told you about picking your fights," she threatened.

The Captain smirked, "look who's talking," he looked down at her now empty sheath, "I knew there was something wrong with you, but I didn't think you were suicidal," he whispered to her.

She backed away. The Captain had hit a deep nerve. Turning away, Natasha headed for the nearest exit. As she came to the hallway, she hit her fists up against the wall in frustration. It was her way of saying that the Captain had won this round.

Prof. Broom poked his head out the doorway to see what was going on. Natasha was stomping down the hallway. He wanted to ask her what happen, but he decide it would be better if would settle down first. She passed him by, cursing under her breath, not even taking notice.

"Was that Natasha," Hellboy was starting to get up.

"Yes, but I think it would be best if you were to leave her alone for awhile," Prof. Broom closed the door.

"Oh," he was a little disappointed, "can I at least go play with Gleb? I'm getting bored just sitting here."

The Professor sighed, "No. I would rather you stayed here."

"Hmph," Hellboy huffed as he folded his arms.

Prof. Broom knew his son was getting annoyed, but there wasn't much he could do. The Captain and his soldiers were working on the flamethrower. The Professor and his agents were trying to decipher several books that were found in the third room that was labeled 'barracks'. Most of them were in Russian, but the rest were in German or Latin. It was a long and frustrating task ahead of them. However, the Professor was sure the answers to all his questions were in those books.

With another sigh, he knew what he had to do, "I'll go and see if Natasha will help translate these manuscripts. Keep working on the others," he opened the door, "and no Hellboy, you can't come along."

The little red demon huffed even bigger as the Prof. Broom left the room. The voices of the soldiers echoed down the hallway; it sounded like they were arguing over how to assemble the prospective weapon. The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard going away from the ruckus it had to be Natasha.

"Natasha," the Professor called after, but there was no response.

She must have been too far away to hear him. Going in the direction he thought she gone, Prof. Broom headed for the angry young woman. He was hoping that her bad mood wouldn't affect her willingness to help. At the end of the hallway, there was a door halfway open, letting the light escape. Shadows could be seen moving back and forth; Prof. Broom assumed it was Natasha pacing; most likely ranting about something or another. As he approached the door, the Professor could make out voices.

"That Captain is getting on my nerves," it was Natasha; "he just doesn't get it."

"Trying to save us," Gleb was also in the room, "patience is needed, yes?"

"Not really," an unfamiliar voice smoothly entered the conversation, "the Americans only want to save themselves. They do not about us. That is the way they are."

"No one asked you Günter," Natasha snapped, "I told you to keep quiet. That was the condition for me letting you out of the closet."

"I know and I am thankful for you letting me out," he tried to sound sincere, "but if I may, I would like to speak my mind."

Prof. Broom peeked through the crack to see what was going on. Natasha was sitting a large wooden desk, Gleb was standing next to her and Günter was leaning against the wall.

"… fine…," Natasha glared at him as she pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it up.

Günter smiled, "I have always admired your… wisdom. Now as I was saying, the Americans do not care about us. We are merely weights for them… something that can be cut loose when the burden becomes too great."

"Is that how you viewed the scientists," Natasha growled, "your fellow countrymen, the men for the last six years you shared bread and salt with? Were they becoming a burden for you? Are we?"

He laughed, "No. I do feel guilt for the loss of our comrades, but we cannot dwell in the past. To do so will surely get us killed. We haven't survived this long to die in a place like this. Those… outsiders… will not allow us to leave here alive. We are mercenaries… the enemy. We are the reason that they are in this god forsaken place. You may be cooperating with them, but how long will they do the same with you? You must consider these things when choosing who to help. You've always lead the group with the Best of intensions," he slowly approached her, "I know that our fallen comrades would want us to live. Helping those… Americans… would be disrespectful to them… to you most of all."

Gleb was about to say something, but Natasha stopped him.

She took in a deep breath and then expelled it with a long trail of smoke, "tell me Günter, do you hate the Americans because you truly don't trust them or is it because of the recent trouble back home," she narrowed her eyes.

Günter backed away, a hint of anger in his eyes, "let me answer your question with my own. Do you trust them? Especially after what that American soldier did to you fifteen years ago? How can you work besides them so easily when that soldier is raising your…"

"SHUT UP," Natasha screamed at him, "you know NEVER to mention that… Never," she nearly burned Günter's nose with her cigarette.

Günter slanted his glance towards Gleb, "leave us."

Gleb looked to Natasha to see if he should. Natasha gave him a slight nod. He was reluctant to leave, but decided it was better to listen to her instead of arguing. The Professor knew he had to hide. He quickly ducked into what he assumed was a closet and just in time. Gleb exited the room, looking back on the occasion. The large man didn't notice the Professor. As soon as he sure it was clear, Prof. Broom headed back to the doorway. Luckily, the door was still partially close so he could listen in.

"Natasha, I have only looked out for you since we met," Günter gently took her uninjured hand, "you cannot say that we did not have something," he leaned in.

Their lips were about to touch when…

Slap… "I told you that those emotions ended three years ago," she slapped him hard, "they were once there," she stepped away, "but they have been replaced with hate and when this is all said and done," she glared, "I will kill you."

"… I see," Günter rubbed his cheek. He started to walk pass her, but stop, "you may hate me and even want to end my life, but," he put his hand behind her head and pushed her lips into his; she didn't resist, "I will always love you," he whispered as he released her.

She didn't say anything as his fingers lingered in her hair. Without another word, Günter left the room. The Professor had gone back to his hiding place, again hoping he would not be found out. The fair haired man started to go pass the closet, but then stopped for a moment, like he detected something.

THUD… a noise came from the room he just exited. He looked over his shoulder, but decided not to check and see what happen. He just continued on his way like nothing happen. Prof. Broom, however, wanted to see if Natasha was alright. Making sure that Günter was no longer in sight; he crept from his hiding place and slowly walked into the room. Natasha was on her knees, just staring at the ceiling. Prof. Broom went to see if she was alright.

"Natasha," he quietly called.

"Prof. Broom," she continued to stare, "why… why does the world have to have so many shades of grey? Why can't it be black and white?"

She turned to him; her eyes were filled with tears.

Prof. Broom pulled out his handkerchief, "I don't know Natasha, I don't know."


	8. Cold Shoulder

You know what I did the other day when I was taking a break from writing? I actually went and read Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 1-17. I realized that I do what Watsuki-sensei does at the being of every Vol. Then I tried to think if I started reading Rurouni Kenshin first or I started writing first. I actually sat in my writing chair (a Lazy Boy) for about an hour. I still haven't got an answer, but either way, I'm going to keep doing this. Now that I have gotten a senseless… I don't know what to call this up hear… I can move on to shout outs. Again, Peya Luna you are the only reviewer (that's cool) and as usual thank you for your words. And of course a big thanks go out to everyone that took their time to read. See you next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

The smoked trailed from Natasha's mouth as she stared down at the floor. The Professor had tried to help her, but she said she didn't have the strength. She sat on the floor leaning up against the desk. Her eyes were still red and puffy from her sobbing. They hadn't spoken since the Professor had entered the room. He wasn't sure what to say. There was a lot said between the two mercenaries. They must have had an extensive past.

"Natasha… are you… alright," Prof. Broom felt like he had to say something.

"…," she just continued to stare.

"I don't know what has transpired between you and Günter and it isn't my business…," he started, "but we need you right now."

"…," she showed no emotion.

"Natasha, in the room you were in, there were books and manuscripts. We can understand some of them, but they are fragments of the originals," he came down next to her, "we need you to translate the ones in Russian."

"… get Gleb to do it," she whispered it to the floor.

The Professor wasn't going to give up, "if both you and Gleb help the work will be done in no time. We'll have answers and maybe a way to destroy that beast."

She didn't seem to be paying attention, "I need some fresh air…"

She stood up with a wobble. Without saying another word, Natasha headed for the door. The Professor quickly followed after her, not knowing what she meant by 'I need some fresh air.' They went down to the main room of the Vault where the soldiers were still arguing.

"Hey Natasha can you come over here for a moment," the Captain called her over.

Again, she didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Hey… Commie," he tried once more.

She stopped and turned her glare in his direction. Without saying a word, she approached him.

"… Natasha," the Captain was a little confused.

"Not," she grabbed his face with her good hand, "a Commie!"

With one smooth move, she brought her foot behind the Captain's knee and began to push him down. It all seemed to be in slow motion. The Captain fell backwards; Natasha fell with him. Just before his head hit the ground, Natasha pushed off his shoulder with her other hand. She flipped over him, landing only a foot from where he hit the ground.

"Captain," the soldiers ran to check on their fallen commander.

"Grab her," one of them had enough sense to say.

Two soldiers started towards her, but were stopped by her hard glare.

"… I am going to get some fresh air," she finally said as she stepped over the unconscious Captain.

Nobody dare to stop her. She headed for the door. The clanking and screeching of the old metal door signaled that she left. Some soldiers stared at one another, trying to figure out what just happen. The others were trying to revive the still unconscious Captain. Prof. Broom just stood there, not knowing what to do. Should he try and go after Natasha or should he help the soldiers with the Captain? All he could do was stand there.

Three hours later…

"That bitch… that crazy Commie bitch," the Captain was swearing up and down, "when and if she gets back, I'm going to… I'm going to… I don't even know what I'm going to do to her!"

"Now, now Captain," the Professor tried to calm him down, "she was…"

"Don't try to defend her," the Captain pointed his finger, "she's the one that attacked me. I was just trying to stop from going out there. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her," he grumbled the last part.

Prof. Broom wanted to say something, but what could he say? Natasha had attacked the Captain unprovoked. At least that's the way it appeared. He knew better, but the Professor couldn't tell the Captain about what he heard.

"You see Gleb," a smooth German voice entered the room, "I told you the Americans didn't trust us."

It was Günter and it sounded like he wanted to stir up trouble.

"Not true," Gleb shook his head, "Professor… do not trust us?"

He wasn't quite sure what to say; he wanted to trust Natasha, but her behavior was unpredictable and her past was shady.

"No… Gleb," the Captain answered, "we don't trust you. Not after what your Commie Leader just did."

"What Natasha do," Gleb was very concerned.

"She attacked the Captain," Prof. Broom answered before the soldiers could, "and I believe she was provoked," he eyed Günter.

"Why are you looking at me," he tried to sound innocent, "Natasha has always been a 'loose cannon'… one reason why I work for her… I like wild women," he smiled.

"Provoked huh," the Captain shot a sideways glare at Günter.

"I only Reminded her of the true," he hissed, "she is not one of you… she," he turned his back to the group, "is one of us… not including Gleb," he added quickly.

The German left with everyone glaring at him. There was just something about him that nobody like.

"I really don't like him," the Captain said what everyone is thinking, "what's this about him provoking Natasha? Did they have a secret meeting or something," he looked to the Professor.

The Professor sighed, "I overheard them talking," he admitted, "I don't think it was suppose to be a secret meeting of any sorts, but Günter… mentioned a few things and I think it got to Natasha. I think he is trying to manipulate her."

"He seems like that sort," the Captain agreed, "still doesn't make up for what she did to me," he pointed to his broken nose.

"No it doesn't," Prof. Broom had to agree with him, "but it doesn't that she should be left out there alone," he started to head for the door.

"Hey, don't you dare go out that door," the Captain tried to get up, "that woman can take care of herself for all I care."

"I'm sorry Captain, but I believe for all of us to get out of here," he smiled, "we all are going to have to work together. Your men are well trained and Natasha knows this base and the movements of the creature. We need her as much as she needs us. Besides," the Professor added, "she didn't have to lead us here that first day."

Maybe it was the Professor's words or maybe it was the fact that the Captain couldn't get up, but nobody tried to stop him. He turned the locking mechanism and pulled the handle. The hallway seemed to darker than the day before. It could have been the fact that his eyes were use to the brighter settings of the Vault. He just had to let them adjust to the dimmer light. For protection, he pulled out a large cross that he had found in the chapel. Cautiously, he pushed forward, not knowing where to go or even if Natasha was still alive.

…

"I am still amazed at your recklessness," Abe commented.

"Yay, you always seemed so levelheaded," Liz giggled, "I guess that's where Red gets it from."

"Like father, like son," Hellboy smiled.

The Professor cleared his throat, "I suppose it wasn't the smartest thing to do at the time, but I couldn't give up on Natasha," a small smile appeared on his face, "she had made quite the impression on me."

Hellboy elbowed Abe, "a really big impression."

All Prof. Broom had to do was glare sternly stare at his son.

"Sorry father," Hellboy looked to the ground.

…

It had been an hour since Prof. Broom had started to search for Natasha, but he wasn't having any luck. He wanted to call out to see if she would answer, however, he also risked the creature hearing him as well.

Against his better judgment, "Natasha! Are you here?!"

"… … no… go away," her voice faintly echoed.

He bet paid off.

"Natasha, I know you may feel like you don't want to talk, but I think you need to," he tried to follow her voice.

The echoes of the winding hallways made it difficult to tell where her voice was coming from. He just had to keep her talking.

"Natasha, please I just want to help you," he pleaded with her.

"I don't need help," her voice sounded closer.

Her voice was coming from a hallway; a very familiar hallway.

"How did I end up here," the Professor asked himself.

The hallway was the same one that led to three mysterious rooms. The doors leading to the chapel were partially open. The Professor knew that the soldiers had closed them the day before.

"Natasha? Are you in here," he cautiously peeked inside.

All the candles had been lit, making an eerie glow about the room.

"Natasha," he looked around.

There was a figure sitting up at the altar. It was leaning against the table, hunched over.

"Natasha," Prof. Broom ran up to the figure.

It was Natasha and she didn't seem to be conscious. Her heavy coat was lying next to her and she was very cold to the touch. Her lips were nearly blue and her breaths were shallow. Prof. Broom quickly took the coat and wrapped it around her stiff body. He knew it wouldn't be enough; he was going to have to help her get warm. Putting his arms around her, he slid behind her and started to hold her close to his body.

"I'm here Natasha… I'm here," he whispered, "I need you to stay here."


	9. Realization

It's been so long and I'm so sorry. I've started up school again, along with working. I only have one day a week to myself. Again, please except my apologies. I don't really don't have a lot to say. So I will do my shout out and leave you with this chapter. Many thanks go out to Peya Luna and of course to all the people that took their time to read my story.

**

* * *

**

Chapter Nine

"Well… we know she wasn't dead," Abe looked around to the others.

"She nearly was," the Professor commented, "I wasn't sure if she was going make it. Her physical and mental state was very fragile. Günter's words had deeply affected her…"

…

"Are you… feeling better," Prof. Broom asked quietly in her ear.

"… sort of," Natasha answered back, "I feel a little warmer."

He was concerned to bring it up, but he had to, "is it your wounds."

"… Gleb has a big mouth," a small smile appeared on her face.

The Professor smiled in return, "he cares about you."

"No… he feels like he owes me… that's all," she answered with a frown.

"Owes you," he was a little confused.

"A story for another day," she sighed, "let's just say that you don't want to mention the words circus or sideshow in front of him."

Prof. Broom wanted to say something, but he thought it wasn't best to push about her past right at that moment.

"Is the Captain alright," she asked.

"He was unconscious, but he was awake when I left… with a broken nose," he whispered the last part.

She must have heard him, "heh… I owed him anyway."

"A broken nose is a little much," Prof. Broom scolded.

She snorted, "I've done worse."

He could imagine.

"Why did you come here Natasha? To say goodbye to your friend," Prof. Broom glanced over at the body that still lay on the floor of the Chapel.

Her eyes drifted over to his body, and then quickly looked away.

"Yes… I needed to see him and apologize," she lowered her head, "I failed him… I failed them all… I should have never taken this job… I should have listened to… Günter…"

"Günter," the Professor was surprised, "what do you mean?"

She turned her head slightly, "he said that we shouldn't take the job. It wasn't our kind of work. He wanted to take a job in Germany involving protection of some sort… I don't know the details. He said that coming here would… be… death…," something clicked inside her mind, "he was adamant about not coming here… but he only knew what I had told the group."

"Is he a superstitious man," he asked.

"No… he doesn't believe in the supernatural or luck… nothing like that," her eyebrows came together, "no… how could he have… I know… he's a liar… but he's never lied to me… the others are in danger," she tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't work.

"Natasha, what is it," Prof. Broom caught her.

"Günter has known about this place," she quickly explained, "it's the only explanation! He wouldn't tell me why he did want to come here! He only gave excuses! We have to go," she stood up, pulling the Professor along with her.

"I don't get," he tried to keep his balance.

"I'll explain along the way," she began to pull him towards the door.

They ran from the chapel, the Professor more or less beginning pulled. She tried to tell him what she figured out, but most of it was a mix of English and Russian. Although he was sure that the Russian parts were her cursing. They both were throwing caution to the wind as they hurried down the hallways. The creature, though injured was still very dangerous.

The familiar settings of the hallway leading to the Vault allowed Prof. Broom to breathe once more. Everything seemed to be intact, maybe giving Natasha a piece of mind back. She released a sigh of relief as she put her hand on the heavy metal door.

"I think we made it back in time," she slowly opened the door.

The Professor helped her with it, since she still seemed weak from her mental and physical ordeal. The lights still were shining bright in the main room, but the soldiers were no longer there.

"They might have gone to their sleeping quarters," he assumed.

"Let us hope," she started to head for the offices, "you look for everyone… I need to find Günter," she started for her Luger.

"Natasha," Prof. Broom put his hand over her gun, "don't do anything yet. You have questions as do I and the Captain. Dead men, for the most part, don't talk."

Natasha lips curled and a curse laced her lips, but she knew that the Professor was right. Gently she took his hand off her holster and nodded.

"He will live… for now," she up close to him, "but when all questions have been answered, he dies."

"I will try to stop you," he added.

"Try being key word," she whispered into his ear.

She pulled back and ran in the direction of where Günter was supposed to be. Prof. Broom, shaking off the chills she sent down his spine, headed for the designated sleeping quarters. It was strange that there wasn't a sound to be heard or that there weren't at least two soldiers at the Vault entrance for guard duty. Hopefully what Natasha had indicated had not come true.

"Captain," he opened one of the office doors. There was no one in there.

"Hellboy," surely his own son would answer him.

But there was not a peeped to be heard. It was starting to really worry the Professor that nobody seemed to be around. He hoped that maybe they moved to a different room for whatever purposes he could think of.

"Professor," a deep voice came from behind him.

"Oh Gleb," he turned around with a sigh of relief, "where is everyone?"

Gleb looked down at the floor, "soldiers found Günter was not in closet… so take care of him."

"How," the Professor feared the worse.

"They just threw him in the closet and jammed a chair under the handle so he could force his way out," Hellboy appeared from behind the large Russian man, "where's Natasha? Is she alright?"

"She's fine," the Professor was relieved, "I need to talk to the Captain. Where is he?"

"Right here Prof. Broom," the Captain moved around Gleb, "you okay? You look like you've just run a 10k," he heavily patted the Professor on the shoulder.

"Natasha and I just ran from the Chapel," he began to explain; "We believe that Günter knows more about this place than he indicated."

"We or just her," the Captain raised his one eyebrow in suspicion.

"We," Prof. Broom assured him, though he wasn't entirely sure himself, "Natasha said that Günter tried to convince her not to take the job, but he didn't know about this place or its history."

"Nothing that he said anyway," Natasha entered the conversation with a huff.

"Commie," the Captain greeted her with a snarl.

"I deserved that," she admitted.

"What else," he was expecting more.

She smugly smiled, "I don't apologize unless I think the person deserves it."

"I'll take that for now," the Captain sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get one, "now what is this about Günter?"

"He's a lying son of a…," she looked down at Hellboy, "… person… thing… he's a bad man…," she wasn't satisfied with her name calling.

The Professor, however, was proud that she held her colorful language in check, "We believe that Günter is hiding information on this place."

"Yes," Natasha interrupted him, "when I was looking for prospective jobs for my… group, Günter was quite adamant about not taking this one. He came up with all sorts of excuses, but I wouldn't listen…," she seemed ashamed. "I realized that I had not told anyone of the past history."

"And how much did you know," the Captain was suspicious.

"I only knew that this place had a bad past. That many people died," she admitted, "but I never heard how they died. When we got here, there was no indication of death, just abandonment."

"Where you told to come or did you decide to hide here," the Captain wanted to clarify.

"Told," Natasha answered quickly, "it was part of the job. Hide out here until the scientists were sent for."

"And what was Günter saying to avoid this place," the Professor was curious.

She tried to recall, "I don't know… I guess he was saying that the job was too dangerous and it didn't pay enough… things like that. It's not that he seemed scared… he just… it didn't seem to fall into his agenda at the moment."

"He's agenda," one of the soldiers was a little confused.

"A man like him always has an agenda all to his own," the Captain explained.

"It is one of the reasons that I decided to keep our relationship strictly professional," Natasha snorted quietly.

"Whoa, whoa," the Captain was caught off guard by that remark, "you and the German… where together?!?"

"That's not important now," she was sorry that she mentioned it, "right now, we need to speak with Günter to see how much he knows." She started off for the closet that held the German man.

"You two, go with her and make sure he gets to the common room in one piece," the Captain ordered his soldiers.

They quickly saluted and followed after Natasha. Even Prof. Broom agreed that she should be left alone with Günter, less her worse judgment were to prevail. He had a feeling that he knew much more than what he let on.

"You and your agents should probably keep reading those books," the Captain rubbed the bridge of his nose, "we'll handle the interrogation."

"I would like to sit in on this," he wasn't going to be pushed to the side, "I would, no, need to hear what he has to say. Whatever information he might have may prove useful to our research and provide some answers to this… disturbing mystery."

"Alright," the Captain wasn't going to argue.

"Can I come with you," Hellboy tugged at his Father's sleeve.

"No, I need you to stay with the Agents," he couldn't let his son see what was or could happen.

"But all they're doing is looking at dusty old books and I'm so bored," the young demon whined.

"We can play," Gleb extended his hand out.

"… Okay," Hellboy could tell his Father wasn't going to back down.

Reluctantly, he put his hand in Gleb's and headed for one of the farthest rooms in the Vault. Prof. Broom appreciated that Gleb was understanding and so gentle. He began to wonder what Natasha's connection to the gentle giant was. She had said something about not mentioning the circus, but he wasn't sure what that meant.

"Are you coming Professor," one of the soldiers broke his train of thought.

"I'll be there soon," he returned to the current situation, "I have to inform my team on what is going on."

"We'll be in the commons," the soldier headed down the hallway.

The Professor nodded his head and proceeded to the room where his Agents had set up their temporary office. He informed them of what happened and what was going on. They asked if they should come and take notes, but the Professor assured that he could handle it. He was sure that the Captain would be thoroughly annoyed to have too many people sitting in on his interrogation.

After giving a few more orders, Prof. Broom left for the common room to hear what Günter, if anything, had to say.

"Alright German," the Captain's voice echoed down the hallway.

_It appears that he has started without me;_ he was a little bit annoyed.

"Tell me what you know about this place," the Captain continued as the Professor entered the room.

Natasha was leaning up against the wall, glaring at Günter with a hateful stare. Günter was sitting in a chair with his arms and legs tied to it. The Captain was circling him like a wolf ready to pounce, while his soldiers stood around to add menacing effect. With all this around him, Günter only smiled. But it was not at the Captain or his men, but at Natasha.

"About this place," Günter continued to smile, "this place is death for all those who enter. Isn't that right my dear Natasha?"


	10. Story Time

I admit it… I had problems writing this part. There were things I wanted to do, but decided it would ruin the pace of the story and bring the climax up to soon… wouldn't want that. Anyway, that's all I have to say. So I'll do the Shout Out. Yup, you've guessed it, Peya Luna is the only reviewer again, but that's okay. I still thank all that have taken their time to read my story. I do dare someone else to review. That's right; the author is daring her readers to review… childish? Yes. Am I childish…. Yes…

**Chapter Ten**

He revealed everything; all the details of the unholy research that took place in the facility. How the Russians found a strange cave in the north and the creature frozen in the ice. How they build the facility around it to study and revive it for their own purposes. How the creature escaped and began to kill and transform the people in the facility. His smile or stare didn't break as he went through the gruesome history. He just stared and seemed to direct the conversation at Natasha. Sometimes he spoke in German, making Natasha translate for him.

She like him, Natasha didn't break her hateful stare with him. It was like no one else was in the room with them. It was only them and the memories of a mysterious past they shared.

…

"He just told you everything," Liz was surprised, "no forces, no threats needed?"

"None needed," Prof. Broom took in a deep breath.

It was a long story that he was relating, though he was more than happy to remember it. Or maybe it was more to remember her.

"He sang like a bird," Hellboy decided to add.

"But, why was he staring at Natasha," Abe wondered out loud, "I know you indicated that they have a past."

"Their story comes in a little later," Prof. Broom sighed, "Natasha was a woman of tragedy. There were very few times in her that she could recall being happy. What happened was defiantly not one of those times…"

…

"So you're trying to tell me that some Russian scientist found a frozen snake in the ground, dug it up, thawed it and then it killed them," the Captain was trying to absorb what Günter had just related.

"Yes… but you knew most of this," his wick smile wouldn't leave his face, "what you didn't know is that my people were involved in the project. I was a soldier at the time you see."

"I figured as much," Natasha commented.

"You knew that he was German soldier," one soldier asked.

"That's how we met," Natasha snorted.

"Ah yes, that cold Russian night in Moscow," Günter's smile curled even more, "you were on a mission to kill my commanding officer… which you so violently did," he laughed, "our gun fight in the streets, me chasing you down the alleys and eventually ending up in that abandoned warehouse. How many years has it been since that fateful night when you spared my life?"

"Ten years…," Natasha snarled, "keep to facility and snake. Do not deviate."

"How can I not, when it all tied together," Günter laughed, "all I've ever worked for has come to this."

"What do you mean by that," the Captain narrowed his eyebrows.

"I admit that things have not gone according to plan," he ignored the question, "Natasha is much more deadly and persistent than I thought, but is another reason that I fell for her."

"Plan? What plan," Prof. Broom questioned.

"What other plan could there be," Günter asked back, "the plan that every human desires, whether they admit it or not. The plan that gets them what they truly desire. The plan that leads down a dark path and seek answers in the deepest parts of their minds and hearts, it is the plan that lies in every single human being that has, is and will existed."

"Start making sense Nazi," the Captain was getting frustrated.

"The plan to obtain ultimate power," Günter plainly answered.

"He's gone crazy," the soldiers started to whisper.

"No… I'm not the one that has gone crazy," he continued, "this world has. With all the fighting and bloodshed, the arguing and mistake… no, this world would be better off if everything started anew."

He threw his head back and started to laugh manically. It echoed through the room, sending chills down the Professor's back. Truly this man had gone crazy from either being in the facility to long or the life he lived as a soldier and mercenary. In some way, the Professor felt sorry for the delusional man.

"Shut him up," the Captain ordered.

"Allow me," Natasha rushed in.

With one swift punch, Günter was knocked out cold; his insane laughter silenced. Natasha drew back her hand; a bruise was starting to form on her knuckles.

"He could never take more than one hit," she shook her hand as she walked away.

"Where you a heavyweight boxer back in the old county," the Captain looked at the damage to Günter's face.

She looked around, listened very carefully and decided it was safe, "I do not know what you mean by 'Old County', but I use to wrestle bears in the circus when I was younger," she whispered.

The Captain wasn't sure what to say about that or if she was telling the truth. He decided not to ask any questions; he probably didn't want to know. She seemed satisfied with her minor victory.

"I suppose that he should be put back in the closet… safest place for him," Natasha sighed.

"Yeah… boys… put him in his happy room," the Captain ordered three of his men.

They just took hold of the chair he was strapped down in and pulled him down the hallway. His head bobbed up and down as the chair creaked and jumped from the bumps in the floor.

"… … …," the Captain was in deep thought.

"Not sure to make of his story," the Professor was able to understand his confusion.

"Natasha, you know him the best," the Captain ignored the Professor's questions, "what do you make of his story? Is that crazy talk just an act?"

Natasha avoided his eyes, "I have known Günter for ten years now. I know of his life, tragedies and triumphs and he knows mine. He has always been a calm and collective individual. My rage and anger has always been subdued by his reasoning and honey tongue."

"So in other words," the Captain interrupted her, "that wasn't normal for him."

"I didn't say that," Natasha quickly answered, "like me, he enjoys a good drink. Whenever he drank too much, he would often speak of how bad the world was. How he had a plan to make everything better… then he would pass out before he would explain his 'ingenious' plan," she admitted, "I always thought it was drunkard talk, nothing more than that. But listening to him just now… well… I'm starting to think that he knew exactly what he was saying."

"So in other words…," the Captain was hoping that someone would finish for him.

Prof. Broom took the opportunity, "he is adamant about following through with this plan of his… whatever it may be."

"In some words like that," Natasha wasn't sure herself of what to think.

"This is crazy," the Captain threw up his hands in frustration, "the German didn't reveal much… just that he has a screw lose… which I already knew that."

"Didn't he," the Professor thought differently, "I believe he revealed more than he thought."

"How so," the Captain didn't believe him.

"Prof. Broom! Prof. Broom," one the agents came running from the research room, "I think we've found something important!"

"What," both the Professor and Captain asked at the same time.

"You better come see what we found," the agent was a little out of breath.

Without another word, everyone, except for the soldiers, head for the research room as quickly as they could. All the agents were abuzz with excitement at their discovery. Seeing that the Professor entered the room, they promptly place a thick, old looking book on the table.

"It's a journal from when the project started, Project Serpentine," the agent began to explain.

"It's in Russian," the Captain was looking over Prof. Broom's shoulder, "how did you translate it?"

"Mr. Gleb was helping us with another document. We naturally took notes and was able to piece together some of the entries… very important ones."

"What does it says," the Professor was getting a little antsy.

"It says," the agent brought out his notebook and began to read,

_December 10th, 1945_

_I'm afraid that Prof. Konstantin and I had another disagreement on what the strange beast is or its origins. It is true that none of the local residents or folklore of the area has any explanation of what it is, but I have my theories. From what can be seen of the creature is it a large snake with arms… that's all we can tell. It is a semi-transparent white with what appears to be blue eyes…_

"Hold on," the Captain interrupted, "the creature we know is black with red eyes. Was there a secondary snake… thing?"

"There is no mention of a secondary snake creature," the agent reported, "but read this one. It's about four months after this entry,"

_April 2nd, 1946_

_I knew that we should have just put it back where we found it… most the soldiers are gone now… they disappeared whenever they went to seek food or fuel… none have come back. Only two Russian soldiers, four German ones, Dr. Konstantin and I are left. The soldiers are drawing straws to see who will go out and tempt fate with the snake demon. Only if we had kept the ice that the creature was found in intact. If we have only known that it would awaken when we took the scepter and manuscript from the melting ice. But the German scientists insisted that we melt the ice just enough to thaw out the items with the snake._

_I will never forget that day… when its skin turned black and its eyes looked like they were on fire… when it broke through the remaining ice and leapt upon the German scientists, ripping into their flesh and smearing their blood onto the walls of the vault…_

"Vault...," something struck the Professor, "I wonder if he means the vault in the back of this place?"

"We believe so," the agent agreed, "from what other entries indicated; this was the research wing of the facility and where the creature was kept."

"That is until it woke up and started to kill everyone," the Captain gave his summary of things.

"What else does it say," the Professor was still curious.

"Well," the agent began to read again,

_It is strange how the manuscript and scepter disappeared a few days after we took it from the ice. The soldiers search everywhere and everyone for the missing items, but they could not be found. It is even stranger that I think of those things now. I have a feeling though… that the answers to the secret of the terrible beast lie within that manuscript. I can only remember one thing from that manuscript,_

_Feyo evoon saena, hau o Sake branea, HAU!_

_I do not know the meaning of this phrase or if is important, but it stuck out at me… I pray that something comes to mind… maybe Latin or Greek… something that might decipher this strange sentence in my mind…._

"It says," Natasha interrupted, "Forget the blood, sleep O Lord Snake, SLEEP!"

"How do you know that," the Captain asked before Prof. Broom could.

"What… its old northern Russian," she casually explained, "my grandmamma use to speak all the time. She was from around in this area… just a little south I believe," she tried to recall.

"And what does that mean," the Captain was getting impatient.

She only shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. That is what the sentence says. The meaning behind it, I do not know."

"Great," he threw up his hands in anger.

"Forget the blood…," the Professor began to ponder out loud.

"Natasha," the agent approached her, "maybe you could look at some other books we have? There is similar writing in those as well."

"I should do that because," she snorted.

"Because if you don't," the Captain was nearly in her face, "I will personally make sure that snake eats you by tonight."

She only yawned, "I guess I don't have anything else to do… I'll do it… I guess."

"Thank you Natasha," Prof. Broom smiled.

The agents also seemed pleased with her response, though it was only half hearted. The Captain shook his head in frustration as Natasha began to look over a book that the agents were having trouble with. Prof. Broom had wanted Natasha to look over the books for some time but she either had no interest or made excuses. Maybe her reading that passage sparked her interest or it was Günter's strange mix of story and insanity that made her want to help. She would never tell or show what she was feeling inside; she just wasn't that kind of woman or at least he didn't think she was.

He left the agents and Natasha to translate the rest of the books and go find where Hellboy and Gleb had gone off too. Heading towards the back, he heard the sounds of laughter coming from one of the offices. He peaked in to see Hellboy relating a story to Gleb. It was one of his favorites and was the one the he always asked the Professor to read over and over.

"And so the Prince held the sword above his head and was about to bring it down into the Demon's heart…" Hellboy acted the part out, "when the princess took hold of hilt and said "Please don't my dear Prince! He has suffered enough! Please, allow him to live." The Prince looked deep into her eyes, they reflected back his image and he was terrified by what he saw. He himself had become the demon. "My dear gentle Princess," the Demon spoke up, "I must die… if I do not, I will continue to drink the blood of virgins… just as I tried with you. Young Prince, please free me from this curse and incessant desire for blood. Do not think less of your dear Prince," the Demon turned to the Princess, "he is only protecting you and others that would suffer from my horrid desires… I am ready," the Demon stood before the Prince, ready to die.

Prof. Broom was so proud of his son for remembering every detail so precisely. Hellboy finished the story with the single blow the Prince gave to Demon. The story ended and Gleb clapped quietly.

"That was very good little one," Gleb smiled, "you make great story… story… umm," he was stuck on the word.

"You mean storyteller," Hellboy was scratching his head in embarrassment as his cheeks turned a bright shade of red.

"Yes," Gleb smiled bigger, "you would like Natasha's stories. She very good storyteller too. She know a lot of stories from here. I like one about Prince Ivan most."

"Really," Hellboy was interested, "how does it go?"

Gleb began to fiddle with his fingers, "oh… I no good with stories…I always mess up ending… we ask Natasha to tell it later. Yes?"

"Yeah," Hellboy was getting excited at the idea of hearing a new story.

Prof. Broom laughed to himself at the innocents of his young son. He had grown so fast and was growing every day, but somehow he retained a childlike innocence that amazed the Professor. He knew that soon Hellboy would start to train as an agent for the Bureau and lose his childhood, but it had to be done. He was a growing boy and the Professor couldn't hide the world from him for too much longer. Maybe like any other father, Prof. Broom wished his son could stay a child forever. To stop time were it was and keep things the way they were.

"Well until then, I'll tell another story," Hellboy started again, "this is a story about the Magically Creatures rising up against the greed of Man…"

_Another one of his favorites,_ Prof. Broom smiled.


	11. Dasvidania

It's been so long… I've just haven't had any inspiration for this story… or really any story I'm working on. But I have finished this chapter and I consider that an accomplishment and I'm happy with that. As for shout outs, I have one. Thank you Peya Luna for the… lovely review and a cheer for more reviews. Though, I'm not sure if anyone reads the reviews… I do… Anyway, hope to see you all next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"That was long and tedious," Natasha sighed as she took a swig from the vodka bottle.

"And unfortunately we didn't find anything that could help us out of this mess," the Captain signaled he wanted the bottle.

Natasha obliged him and handed him the bottle. He held it up to his lips and took a long drink. She watched him as he continued to gulp down the clear liquid; even seeming a little impress by his long swig. The bottle finally left his lips and he released a phlegm fill cough.

"Hmph… impressive," she pulled the bottle from his hand.

They just sat there are the folding table, contemplating their fate. The whole vault seemed to be in a down mood, not that anyone had been in a good mood since they arrived there. But with the recent discovery of journals from soldiers and scientists, everyone began to feel a sense of hopelessness. Natasha had known this for quite some time; she had probably been waiting for them to realize it. The soldiers were sitting around, some still jumped at every noise and the others just stared at the ceiling. The agents continued to read through research notes, though not with the same vigor as before.

"Father," Hellboy ran down the hallway.

"What is it," Prof. Broom bent down to greet him.

"There are strange noises coming from the closet in that room there," he pointed to the room three doors down.

Prof. Broom knew that's where Günter was locked up. He must have woken up and was trying to get out.

"Don't pay any mind to it," Prof. Broom comforted him, "it's probably just some rats."

"Then it's an awfully big rat," Hellboy stared down at the room.

"Yes," the Professor started to listen.

It was true; there was a lot of noise coming from the room. It sounded like a lot of struggling and even some gurgling could be heard.

"Stay here," he quietly said to his son.

"But," Hellboy wanted to follow him, but the Professor held up his hand.

He slowly made his way to the room; the noises were louder and more in frequency. It could have been just Günter trying to escape, but the quiet muffled noises sounded frantic.

"Captain! Natasha," he took a step away from the room, "I think something is wrong with Günter!"

They rushed to the doorway and listened for themselves. Thuds and bangs knocked against the door. They winced and trembled as the noises grew more and more quiet. Only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

"Should we see if he's okay," one of the soldiers asked the Captain.

"He's probably just freaked out when he woke up in there," the Captain really didn't want to see.

"Günter," Natasha pushed to the front of the small crowd, "Günter?"

"Don't go in there," the Captain ordered her as she entered the room.

She didn't listen. Placing her hand on the knob, she slowly opened the door. She cursed in Russian as she leaned into the small closet. The Captain soon pushed passed the Professor to have a look for himself.

"He's gone," the Captain pronounced as he shoved his way through the crowd.

"How is that possible," the soldiers started to whisper to one another.

Natasha half way stepped into the closet and looked around; presumptively for an exit of some type.

"No vent… nothing out of place," she knocked on the walls, "there's no way he could have gotten out…"

"There must be a secret passage or something," Prof. Broom came up next to her.

They both knocked and felt the walls, ceiling and floor, but there was no sign of tampering or a passage. It was a strange mystery that was brewing. An insane man, locked in a closet, bounded and gagged escaped without going passed soldiers and agents. The sounds that came from the closet before sounded like he was being attacked, but there was no sign of a struggle; no blood, no body, nothing.

"This is… strange," Natasha stated the obvious.

"Indeed," Prof. Broom agreed as he stepped away from the closet, "I do believe that we all heard something coming from in there."

The remaining soldiers and agents nodded their heads. There were noises, but there was no sign of struggled. There was only one way out, but they all had been standing there while the sounds died down.

"Hmm…," Natasha stood with her back to the closet, "something doesn't seem right…"

Hiss… a low hissing came from the ceiling. Scratching and clawing filled the air of the vault. The beast started its nightly ritual to shake them up.

"Wonder when it was going to start up," Natasha snorted, "it sounds more restless than usual…"

The clawing and scratches rang through the air. It etched and eked through the vents that hovered just over their heads. Its scales scrapped against metal, its heavy breaths echoed in the room. It hissed once more.

"I think we should leave," Prof. Broom started to have a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Natasha turned her head to the closet, "agreed."

She started to walk away, but was whipped back into the closet by something black.

"NATASHA," Prof. Broom tried to grab hold of her.

Their hands took hold of one another. Unfortunately, the creature's grip was strong. Prof. Broom tried with all his might to pull Natasha from the black coils. All the soldiers wrapped their arms about each other's waist, anchoring the Professor. The coils began to tighten around Natasha.

"Agg," she released a yelp of pain, "Please don't let go!"

"Wasn't planning on it," Prof Broom pulled as he gritted his teeth.

"Either was I," the Captain took hold of Natasha's arm, "Pull Men!"

Grunting and groaning, all the soldiers pulled in unison. Slowly, they started to back out into the hallway. She was starting to slip from the creature's grip. It looked like they were going to win this tug-of-war.

"One more good pull men!" the Captain called out.

They pulled once more and she was nearly out the door.

"HISSS!" the creature hissed loudly.

From the shadows of the ceiling, four arms extended out and wrapped around Natasha.

She looked to the Professor with wide eyes, "get out… I'm done…," she let go of their hands.

"Hang on Natasha!" Prof. Broom held his grip, but he could feel her being to slip away.

"Dasvidania… Professor," tears ran down her cheeks.

She was gone. She disappeared up into the ceiling. The scratching and hissing moved through the ceiling towards the vault door. All the men followed the noises, hoping that the ceiling would give way to the creature's weight.

"NATASHA!" Prof. Broom screamed.

The noises echoed passed the vault door and disappeared.

"Natasha," he whispered.

"Go get whatever ammo we have let and get the flamethrowers up and running," the Captain started to order his men, "we're going for her Professor," he patted him on the shoulder, "we'll get her back."

"What happened Father?" Hellboy tugged at his shirt.

"Natasha," he looked down at his son, "we'll get her back… I promise."

The creature had taken so many now. It had maimed, killed and destroyed lives. It had taken down a military base full of soldiers. It had taken out a group of notorious mercenaries. It had finally taken the one woman that had eluded it. It had taken her after she shit fire in its face. It had taken the woman that had saved their lives.

"It will not have her," he promised to himself.


	12. The Creature's Lair

Oh… it's been a long time… And for that, I do apologize. I just couldn't concentrate on this story and maybe I didn't know where I wanted to go with it. I moved on to other stories to get my thoughts straight and do some free writing. Okay… it's been about a year's worth of free writing, but I hope that it has done the job.

Time for my favorite part of… whatever it is you want to call what I do up here. So many thanks go out to i love arhrun and Peya Luna for the encouraging words. I look back on the reviews and it gives me the strength to continue to write. Whether they are good or bad, reviews are so helpful to an author and they are appreciated. Anyway, I'm done. I'll just let you get back into the story… that is if there is anyone still out there.

See you guys around.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"It… it took her?" Liz was on the edge of her seat.

"Yes," the Professor looked down in shame.

Hellboy released a low growl, "I shouldn't have just stood there."

"There's nothing you could have done," Abe tried to console him, "you were little then…"

"Little nothing," Hellboy snapped.

"Hellboy," Prof. Broom scolded him, "there is nothing that any of us could have done. That is in the past…"

"But still, I could have… she didn't have to…," he tried to argue, but he knew there was no point in arguing.

"What did you guys do?" Liz really wanted to hear what happened next.

"We were going to take down that creature," Prof. Broom cleared his throat.

…

"Captain?" the Professor was trying to get his attention, "Captain? Captain? Captain!" he finally yelled.

"Sorry Professor," the Captain zoomed by, "but we have to hurry. So get you and your men together," he checked his gun for ammo, "We're going on a snake hunt and rescue the Commie."

"But Captain, we're not even sure if this is going to work," he sighed, "We don't even know if Natasha is…"

The Captain took hold of the Professor's arm and dragged him into a nearby room, "You listen to me Professor," he pushed him into a wall, "That woman is tougher than any man here. If you're going to start thinking bad thoughts, then stay here. I don't need a yellow bellied coward stumbling along. If she is dead then let's do was she would want: Kill that Thing. If she ain't, then let's save her before she ends up as one of those blood sucking vipers. Now you going to sit here on your ass and wonder about her fate or," he let go of the Professor and headed for the door, "believe that Natasha won't go down without a fight?"

Professor looked down to the floor. He felt ashamed that he would lose faith so quickly.

"Father," he felt a tugging as his sleeve.

He knelt down to his son's level, "I know that a lot has happened, but I need you to be brave."

"I will Father," Hellboy nodded his head, "But I want to go with you. I want to help Natasha. She's looked after us and now we need to look for her."

He was so innocent. He really didn't understand the risks that were involved in this rescue mission. That creature had already killed so many and convert others into its shape. The Professor looked around the room. Some of the brave men there could suffer the same fate as the mercenaries and scientists. It was all a risk. Was it all worth it?

"Natasha…," Gleb sat in a slump in the corner of the room.

"Hey," the Captain pointed to him, "Don't be thinking like that. We'll get her back. That damn snake is not going to take her."

He looked up at him with sad eyes, "But it already take Natasha. It pull her up and… and…," a tear formed in his eye.

"It will be okay," Hellboy assured him, "Natasha is really strong and I know that she won't let that snake eat her."

"Yes…," Gleb wiped his eyes and nose, "Natasha is strongest I know… We find?

"Yeah," the Captain threw some bottles of vodka into his bag, "We find her."

"I come?" he stood up with a renewed sense of hope, "I know where snake lives."

"What?" the Captain looked at him, "I thought you didn't leave this place."

Gleb twisted his hands and shifted uncomfortably, "I… um…," he fell into a spew of Russian.

"Gleb… Gleb…," the Professor tried to calm him down, "Gleb in English please."

It seemed to register, "Oh… sorry… English not good… Um…," he tried to think of the best way to describe the location, "I show," though he didn't seem too happy about doing that.

The Captain shook his head, "Sorry, but you'll get in the way…"

Prof. Broom was about to say something, but the Captain finished his thoughts.

"But I don't think we should stick around here," he looked around the room, "There may not be enough time…"

"Time? What are you planning?" the Professor asked.

There was a smile on the Captain's face, "It's going to get hot in here…"

…

"What did he mean by that Professor?" Abe asked.

The Professor only smiled.

"Well," Hellboy answered for him, "Let's just say that the good Captain wanted to make a really big signal fire."

Abe and Liz looked to one another.

…

The footsteps of all the men echoed down the hallway. They were so loud that rang through the air and deep into their ears. It was almost deafening. They were on edge as they inched their way down the hallway. The soldiers formed a circle around the agents, with their guns at the ready. Hellboy was clinging to his father's coat. He didn't want to bring his along, but the Captain said it would have been too much to go back. He didn't know if they would have enough time. From what the Captain said, he wasn't sure if they would have enough time to get out themselves. It was a risk though.

_This entire mission was a risk;_ the Professor thought to himself,_ everyone here knew that there was a chance that they might not come back. We didn't know what we were walking into… though we did have some information. Natasha came here and didn't know… she lost all her men… but,_ he sighed to himself, _she risked everything to save us. She could have just let us die at the hands of snake creature… but she didn't. She can to our rescue and has looked after us since. Yes,_ he agreed with himself,_ a risk is worth it… especially to save a woman that has done so much…_

"How much farther?" the Captain was getting anxious.

"Not much," Gleb seemed nervous.

One of soldiers looked about, "Why did you come down here anyway? It's creepy as hell."

Gleb lowered his head, "I… I follow Günter… he come down here lot."

"Why?" the Captain asked.

"Not know… he said… oh," he quickly covered his mouth.

"You can tell us," the Captain assured him, "Whatever it is that he said to you, don't worry about it."

Gleb gulped and sighed, "He had something in his hands… but couldn't see… shiny though. He said if I say to Natasha, he would… he send… send me back…," he shuttered.

"Where? Where would he send you too?" the soldier probed.

"Back to circus…," he started to shake, "… back to man with whip… he beat me bad…"

"Circus?" the soldier continued.

"I don't think we need to be…," the Captain started to say.

"She… there hiding with Günter after job," Gleb recalled, "I freak show… strong man. Man with whip think Gleb stupid and need hurting all time. Keep in small iron bar room… Natasha come to me. She bring me along. Günter not want Gleb. He say that Gleb too dumb. No good to them. Natasha think Gleb good. Gleb strong. Gleb would be good for them. Been with Natasha since."

"That's why you're so loyal to her," Prof. Broom was starting to understand; "She saved you from a horrible life."

"She good person," Gleb smiled back at them.

"Hey," one of the soldiers pointed up ahead, "There's an opening ahead."

Just up ahead there was a large fissure in the stone and metal wall. Snow was blowing in and it was cooler than normal. It was the kind of chill that went straight to the bone. It filled the body and took away one's breath. The Professor could feel his blood turning to ice.

Everyone seemed to slow to a halt. They couldn't move. Their bodies were being frozen in time. They took hold of themselves to find some warmth, but there was none in their bodies. Everything was taken out them. It would have been best just to lie down and wait for the feeling to come back to them.

"Father," Hellboy took hold of the Professor's hand, "Are you okay?"

It was strange. Even though his hand was made of stone, it was as warm as a fire. It traveled up his arm and into his chest. It radiated out to the rest of his body. He could breathe again. The feeling had returned to him.

He looked down to his worried son, "I'm fine. Thank you," he squeezed his hand.

The rest of the men were still frozen in place and didn't want to move.

Prof. Broom put his hand on the Captain's shoulder, "We should continue on."

He seemed to snap out of it, "… Yeah," he shook his head, "Come on men," he patted another on the shoulder.

One by one, shoulder by shoulder, the men came back to themselves and the cold that stopped them faded. They didn't know what to say, other than that there was no time. it had to be the place or something that the nest of the creature created.

"Alright boys," the Captain came up the cracked wall, "We go in slowly and carefully. You go first," he pointed to the soldier with the flamethrower, "Shot whatever moves."

"What if it's Natasha?" the Professor pointed out.

The Captain thought for a moment, "… don't shot until you see the red of its eyes," he corrected himself; "The rest of you will keep an eye out for that monster and Natasha."

They nodded their heads in agreement.

"What me suppose to do?" Gleb asked.

"Yeah," Hellboy pushed himself up to the front of the group, "What do you want me to do?"

Prof. Broom turned Hellboy to him, "You stay here with Gleb."

"But father…," Hellboy started to whine.

"No buts… please just stay here," he sighed, "We'll be back as soon as possible, but we have to find Natasha first."

"I want to help too," Hellboy looked to the ground.

"You can help by making sure Gleb, Natasha's friend, stays safe," he understood that Hellboy just wanted to help find the woman that looked after him and told him stories.

He looked up to Gleb, who smiled at him, "Okay… I'll stay behind…"

"Thank you," Prof. Broom stood up.

"Alright? Are we set?" the Captain was growing impatient.

The Professor took in a deep breath, "Let us be on our guard."

"Okay then," the Captain smile, "Move out."

Gleb and Hellboy moved to the side as the group moved from their place. From the enclosed space of the hallway, they moved into a spacious carven like hall. It was like as Natasha described it… a mausoleum. It was older than the base they had just come from. It was like the building was built around the place in order to preserve or hide it. There were strange marking all over the stone walls. Most were scratched out by long, deep claw marks. The snow was falling, but from where the Professor couldn't tell. The path before them was covered in a blanket of the white snow. Nothing had disturbed the place for quite some time. Everything was quiet… so quiet.

"Look there," the Captain whispered, "Is that the end of this place? Why does it shine?"

"No," Prof. Broom knew what it was, "It is the black ice…"

It was like a wall of obsidian or black crystal. It shimmered and gleamed as the light from their flashlights and danced about on the other walls. Spots of light bounced off the unnatural ice and created an eerie atmosphere.

A whispering filled the air. It was like chanting. A rhythmic melody that went straight through the body and deep into the soul. It sounded familiar; the Professor knew he had heard it before. As they went deeper into the stone hall the whispering became louder and louder.

The Captain swept his flashlight across the bottom of black ice.

"There," he suddenly called out as he trained the beam onto a huddled mass.

The Professor wanted to run to see if it was Natasha, but doing so might have meant his death. The Captain could tell that he wanted to run and maybe he did too. Tapping the soldier in front of him on the shoulder, he indicated to move towards the mass and quickly. The soldier understood and hurried his pace. The group moved as one. All their eyes were looking for any sign of movement, but nothing stirred. The whispering only grew louder as they moved closer.

"Natasha!" Prof. Broom could see she was leaning up against the black ice.

As he ran up to her, slipping in the snow, he could see that she was moving her lips.

"Natasha?" he bent down to her.

She had a distance look in her eyes. She was staring, but at nothing. Her face was so white; it almost looked like the snow. Her lips were as blue as ice. She looked dead.

"Natasha? We have to go," Prof. Broom picked up her hand and tried to pull her up.

"Come on Professor," the Captain came up behind him, "I don't want to spend too much time in here."

"Help me," he tried to pull her up once more.

"Wait," the Captain stopped him, "Look," he pointed to Natasha's lower region.

"Huh?" Prof. Broom brushed away the accumulated snow.

He nearly fell back in horror. Her torso and legs were encased in black ice.

"We need to get her out," the Professor looked from something to shatter the ice with.

"Professor," the Captain put his hand on the Professor's shoulder.

Natasha suddenly turned to the Professor. She gently stroked his cheek.

Her lips moved but he couldn't make sense of her words. He moved into closer.

"Leave me my dear Professor," she weakly whispered, "It has taken me… I feel the changes… I feel it close… go before you become…," her eyes fluttered.

"Natasha," he gently shook her, "Natasha!"


	13. Battle Hopeless

Another chapter out and we're closer to the end of it. I hope that I'm keeping you on the edge of your seat… I do so love cliffhangers. All of my favorite shows seem to do that… I guess I'm just taking out my pent up frustration on you guys. Oh well, you guys will just have to suffer.

Enough of that though. I'll move on to the shout outs and you can start reading what you came here for. I would love to thank i love athrun, Diesel and Peya Luna for leaving me some awesome reviews. I would also like to thank everyone that has taking their time to read through my story. I hope that you are enjoying it so far.

P.S. – I have posted an original piece on FictionPress .com (there's a link on the FanFiction home page). It's called the _Eyes of the Hunter_. Please give it a shot if you like futuristic stories. It's only about four chapters long. So if you feel like taking a look…

Sorry about that… I REALLY hate to advertise myself, but I would like some feedback on my original creation. Thank you and sorry again.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Natasha, you have to stay with us!" Prof. Broom shook her awake.

She seemed to wake a little, "… you can't do it… can you?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"This," the Captain sighed as he pulled out his handgun.

"No… we just need to pull her out of this," he wouldn't give her up without a fight, "We just need to break the ice… and then destroy the creature… all will be well…," he was in denial.

"Professor," the Captain understood.

"Please Prof. Broom," Natasha choked out, "I've been running for so long… I'm so tired… I want to rest…," she laughed to herself, "At least in Hell… I will finally be warm."

"Natasha please," he wasn't listening.

"Boys," the Captain motioned to a few of the soldiers to remove him.

They gently bent down and pulled the Professor away. He struggled as he tried to pull himself from their grip, but it was no use. He was only a man of knowledge and faith. They were trained in the body and war. There was no way he could escape their grip.

"Do you want me to wait or do you now?" the Captain checked his gun.

"Now… but with my Luger," she looked down at her holster, "I rather die my by favorite gun, then by some stranger's weapon."

The Captain laughed, "Really? Here I thought we were comrades."

"We are," she smiled, "Friend."

He bent down and pulled her weapon from the holster. Standing up, he checked to see if there were any bullets left.

"One," he counted under his breath, "Any last request?" he sadly looked to her.

"A cigarette… please," she wanted one last smoke.

"Hope you don't mind American," he pulled out one of his.

Placing the butt in his mouth, he pulled out his lighter and lit the end. He took in a few puffs to get it started. Holding it down to her, he waited for her to take it. She tried, but her arms would not obey her. He understood and carefully placed it in her mouth. She took in a deep breath; the cigarette burned about half way down; she released a long trail of smoke.

"It's good," she nodded her head, "Not as good as a Russian one," she coughed, but still managed to hold the cigarette in her mouth.

"Ready?" the Captain sighed.

"Are you?" she smirked.

"Just so you know," he made sure the gun was ready, "I'm not going to enjoy this."

"Sure… I know… I won't hold it against you," she smiled.

He held up the pistol and took aim. Just between the eyes; a simple shot that would end whatever pain she was in. it would be quick. It would painless or so they could only hope. The Captain was the only one that would look. Everyone else looked away. She was not one of them, but she had looked after them like they were her own men. She had taken so many risks… whether it was the way she did things or the fact that she may have wanted to die. They couldn't say. They just knew that what was about to happen would not be pleasant.

Prof. Broom closed his eyes and turned his head. He would just have to wait for the bang… the ear splitting bang. It would only take one… it would only take one to end her life… a life that he knew little about. She would take her sins to the grave. Her memories; her past; her grievances; her life would all end with one bullet.

"Dasvidania… my friends," she closed her eyes.

"Goodbye… Natasha…," the Captain was about to pulled the trigger.

SCREECH!

The Professor opened his eyes suddenly. There looming over Natasha's partially frozen body, the creature started at the Captain with eyes full of hate. It stared at him with its eyes full of hate. It snapped its teeth and hissed so loudly that it sent shivers up and down the spine. The coils of its body slithered down the black ice that surrounded the place. Twisting and turning, it started to wrap its body around Natasha until she disappeared.

"Captain!" one of the soldiers had enough sense to pull him away.

"Aw…," a voice echoed in the darkness, "You shouldn't interfere with his business…"

"It can't be," the Captain thought he recognize the voice, "I thought that thing dragged him off."

"All an act," a figure appeared on the top of the ice palace.

"Günter!" the Captain raised the gun to aim.

"I wouldn't do that," Günter clicked his tongue and waved his finger back and forth.

The snake snapped its mouth full of sharp teeth at the Captain, as if it was warning or daring him to make a move.

"Move and he'll rip you apart," Günter jumped down to a lower tier of the ice, "Or turn you… though," he thought for a moment, "He probably wouldn't allow a man like you into his ranks. You're not… savage enough for him, but then again," he shrugged his shoulders, "another underling is another underling. You all will do, I suppose," he sneered as he looked down at the agents, "Even you will do. I will need every single one of you to make my world come to be… to bad that Natasha killed our comrades and those American soldiers that he turned. They would have been very useful and could have taken you all very easily… yes… but he will just have to face you alone… but he can do that," he smiled down at the creature, "Of course just converted individuals will not be enough for my plan… no… He needs a mate to make more like himself…"

"What are you talking about Nazi?" the Captain gritted his teeth.

"Yes…," he smirked, "You people are not as intelligent as myself or the Professor's men," he had to admit, "This creature… it has no name now… it was lost a long time ago… he is the key to creating a world that even Hitler could not even imagine… a prefect utopia… Unfortunately…," he frowned, "His mate, fellow creature like himself, was killed and he became the being you see here. Twisted and contorted by the pain of seeing his mate killed before his eyes… he has no mind of his own… he needs someone to guide him through this difficult time… more like difficult millennium…"

"And I'm guessing that you would be that "guide" that he needs?" there was a hint of anger in the Captain's voice.

"Who else?" Günter shrugged his shoulders, "I have been able to calm a savage beast like Natasha for years. There's nothing to it… though… it helps when you have this," he brought out something shiny from his coat.

…

The Professor took in a deep breath. He hadn't realized how longed he had talked. Neither Abe nor Liz looked like they were going to interrupt him anytime soon. He wished they would. It was hard for him to continue on with the story. It was hard for him to think about how Natasha had started to struggle against the weight of the coils. She hadn't given up, but the Professor had. He was willing to let the Captain kill her without much of a fight.

It was rather mentally tiring to think of something that had changed his life so much.

Hellboy must have realized it.

"That Günter was really crazy," he commented, "Thought he could change by force. Run into too many of those guys," he sighed.

"What exactly did he want to do with the creature?" Abe asked, "What could it do to change the world?"

"Its true abilities lie in the past that was long forgotten," Prof. Broom knew he had to finish what he started.

He owed it to her.

…

"It is the scepter," one of the agents whispered to Prof. Broom.

In his hands there was a two foot long golden rod with what appeared to be a large ruby mounted on top.

"With this," he held it over them in triumph, "I shall make my world!"

"Don't think so!" the Captain took aim.

With a slight wave of his hand, Günter gave the creature an unheard order. The creature obeyed and flung one of its massive arms towards the Captain. The soldiers behind him grabbed on to his bag. They pulled him back and tumbled upon one another.

"Spread out!" the Captain ordered as scrambled off the pile of men, "Keep your distance and hit it from all sides!"

The men didn't answer back; there was no time to. Everyone spread out as best as they could. The snow was thick and difficult to move through. The men tried to best to keep their balance, but their feet became stuck or slid through the fluffy white stuff. The creature looked to each man; deciding on which one to go after first. Then one of the soldiers slipped in the snow. The snake hissed and seemed to glide right over the snow towards the flailing man.

"NO!" one soldier started to wave his hands to get its attention, "Over here! I'm a young hot blooded and not some dried out old man! Come and get me!"

"I'm only a year older then you!" the soldier yelled as he finally got to his feet.

"Still more hot blooded then you! WHOA!" the soldier ducked out of the way of the creature's clams.

"OVER HERE!" all of the soldiers started to wave and yell at the creature.

Its four eyes sweep across each one, not knowing where to go or who to go after first. Günter, from his icy perch, started to shout out orders in German.

"We have to get that scepter away from him," Prof. Broom whispered to his agents.

"Look there," one of them pointed out an edge that lead up to ice outcropping, "We can maybe sneak up to him and grab it."

"Hopefully the soldiers can keep both of them busy," another looked at the chaos the soldiers were causing.

They were running around, waving and yelling at the creature trying to confuse it and keep it moving. But not all its coils had released Natasha; they still wound around her; refusing to let her go.

"Keep low and move carefully and quietly," Prof. Broom spoke in a whisper, "Try to get the scepter and see if we can control the creature."

They all nodded in agreement. They had to get that golden rod if they were going to stop the mad man. One by one, they slunk up to the black ice. Neither the creature nor its master seemed to notice seemed the agents' movements. They were almost there. It was only a yard or so away.

"Agg!" one of the agents slipped.

"What's this?" Günter locked eyes with Prof. Broom, "You think you can take me on? I don't need the creature to take you on," he crouched down and jumped down to the floor, "You are weak and pathetic."

Without waiting for a word from them, he swung his fist at the Professor. There was not time to move. Prof. Broom could only bring up his arms to defend himself. Günter's fist slammed into the Professor's arms. He felt it… the bones in his arms cracked and snapped under the massive punch. He fell back and held his arm in pain.

"Professor!" the agents came to his side, "Are you alright!"

He could only clinch his teeth in pain. With each movement, he could feel the bones in his arm slid across one another with sickening crunches. It was broken… but he was not.

"I'm fine," he sat up with great pain, "We need to continue with our mission!"

The agents knew what they had to do. They had to get control of the situation and the scepter was the key. Inclosing around Günter, they prepared for an attack. Two jumped towards him, but he quickly dodged out of their way. Another set tried to grab him, but he punch one and kicked the others. The rest looked to each other and knew that they were going to need all their strength. The remaining men each grabbed hold of whatever they could latch onto. Günter only smiled as they tried to pull the gold object from his hands.

"Fools!" he laughed, "It not only gives me control!" he pulled into a tight ball, "But it gives me his strength!"

It was like a hurricane. He threw his arms out with so much force that it sent the agents flying through the air; scattering them across the frozen scene. The Professor could only sit there, holding his shattered arm, and watch his men be tossed like ragdolls.

"Tell me Prof. Broom," Günter started to walk towards them, "Did you really think that this pathetic bunch of men could possibly take on a creature of pure rage and lust? Did you really think that your men, who are not trained in combat, could face a superior being like myself? You are an intelligent man," he bent down to him, "do you not see that I am trying to create a world without war? Without strife? Surely you would agree that a world like that is much better than the one that currently exists. So a few people must die… they are not worthy to live in a perfect world."

"A perfect world…," Prof. Broom lowered his eyes, "Cannot exist if the innocent must suffer," he threw the hardest punch he could manage with his good arm.

"There are no more innocent people left," Günter caught it like it was nothing, "The moment a person is born into this world, they are tainted," he began to squeeze the Professor's fist, "They say fire purifies, but I say that ice purges…," he brought back his fist and launched it towards the Professor.

He braced for the impact. He knew there was no way to avoid it. The world slowed down as he watched everything. His men were slowly waking up. The soldiers were still running back and forth. They were starting to slow down. The cold and snow was getting to them. They weren't moving as fast as they could be. One of them slipped and the creature saw its opportunity. It reared up and readied to pounce. The Captain stepped into its path; trying to protect his falling man.

They were starting to lose…

What hope did they have…?

He felt it once again… the icy coldness that crept up inside him… it was sinking into his heart… forlorn… depression… sadness… hopelessness… darkness…

"DON'T HURT MY FATHER!" someone screamed through the air.


End file.
